Never Let Me Go
by Kat0507
Summary: Naley continuation of season 9. Series of rotating one shots, inspired by Diamond Gothic. See AN inside for better description.
1. Chapter 2

Never Let Me Go

**Disclaime**r: Characters, minor plot points, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwahn, and One Tree Hill writers.

**AN: **This is a **rotating feature** by mAu0103 and me (inspired by Diamond Gothic) - with the possibility of occasional guest authors, but we'll let you know when and who, when it comes to that. This will basically be "one story", which, as of now will be composed on two different accounts.

We will try and keep this from getting too confusing by constantly reminding you what order to read things/from what author. If any of you get/are confused or have questions, please don't hesitate to ask us! We're also available on twitter (mAu0103& Katg0507). When we are done, we will probably compile everything together on both accounts for easy reading.

For now, in order to follow along, we suggest you get story alerts on stories on each of our accounts. Also refer back to the guide we are setting up for updated information. Here is what we have so far:

"Everything"-posted by Kat0507

Chapter 1-posted by mAu0103

Chapter 2-posted by Kat0507 (this chapter!)

Chapter 3-will be posted by mAu0103

Chapter 2

The bright sun shone down on the Scott house like a ray of warmth and love. Warmth and love were the feelings floating around that house these days, but today, there would more than just the four household members enjoying that. Today, there would be kids running around—lots of kids—along with friends and family.

It was the day the Scott family had set aside to share with the people who had stood by them during their tough times. It was also the celebration of lots of good news. Through adoption and marriage, Logan and Clay were being officially welcomed into the family. Julian and Brooke had their new business ventures taking off. Likewise, Chase had begun running the bar at Tric as his own. Mouth was healthy and thriving again, which put that persistent smile back on Millie's face. Then, there was the establishment of the Edward/Scott Memorial Scholarship Program which everyone was excited about. Chris Keller was joining them as well. He had been busy recording his new album for Red Bedroom Records but was happy to extend an invitation to himself. Even Skills, who was personally invited, claimed he had some good news to share; news he had been keeping very quiet but wanted to reveal at this party.

This was the latest step to readjusting to normal life and moving forward through the healing process after the traumatic events in their family. Their first priority had been settling in as family back at home. Next, they had begun to branch out outside of their home. Nathan had taking Jamie on the camping trip, so they could reconnect and have some 'guy time,' while Haley had some 'girl time' with Lydia as she helped out with the town's Burning Boat festival.

With their children settled, Nathan and Haley spent some much needed alone time reconnecting as a couple. They shared a romantic meal, champagne, and a bubble bath. Nathan had also surprised Haley with a special gift—a throwback to their past. It was a diamond bracelet hidden in a Cracker Jacks box. During their special time together, they had reflected on the past with nostalgia and reverence. Most of all, they reveled in each other's company with laughs and intimate exchanges of their love; one that took place in the rain! They were childlike and giddy, but also heartfelt and serious. Those day and nights together, both as a couple and with their children had been just want they needed to regroup and take back control of their lives.

Months later, they could attest that the whole experience left them stronger than ever, but not without wounds that still needed to be healed. So, they reached out to friends in celebration at Tric, for the club's tenth anniversary. It had been a wonderful evening, but it was only adults. This cookout was for everyone and the Scotts were happy to host it on the grounds of their spacious, but cozy and familial home.

Haley spent most of the morning cleaning and cooking preparing for their guests while Nathan entertained the kids. She'd also taken some time to dress for occasion. She was wearing a light, airy brown sundress that had thin straps over her shoulders, cinched at her waist and ended just above her knees. She curled her hair and pinned up the sides, just enough to keep it out of her face. The final touches to her ensemble were some dangling feather earrings and a pair of dressy sandals.

Almost finished with her preparations, except for a job she saved for her and Jamie, Haley headed out to the pool.

Out on patio, she stood for moment and watched Nathan twirling around Lydia in the water. It was a sight that always warmed her heart. From the time Lydia was a tiny baby, Nathan had taken her in the pool. It was their special time together and Lydia knew that. She was in her glory, giggling and screaming as Nathan splashed her around.

When Nathan noticed Haley, he stood still and wiped down his daughter's face.

Once her face was clear, Lydia looked at him with her bright greenish-blue eyes and smiled. She slammed her fist into the water and shouted, "Again!"

Nathan flinched as the water splashed in his face.

Haley laughed. "Oh, you have your hands full."

Nathan bounced his daughter up and down and walked to the side of the pool. "How's it going?"

"Looking for Jamie. Have you seen him?"

"I think he's shooting hoops in the driveway. Man, the boy is relentless. He's obsessed with it these days."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I've never seen that before….Funny, I remember the days when he used to jump at the chance to shuck corn with me. He thought it was fun! Now, why do I get the feeling he's hiding out?"

"Because he probably is. The boy is growing up, Hales." Nathan looked lovingly at his daughter. "But not you, baby girl. Huh? You're going to be our baby, forever, aren't you?"

"Ha!" Haley scoffed. "You should see her with Jude and Davis! Trust me, you are going to have your hands full!"

Nathan shook his head in disbelief at Lydia. "No. Tell her no."

Lydia put her finger in her mouth and shook her head. "No," she happily complied.

Nathan kissed her cheek, then lifted her up in the air, high up above him. She laughed wildly.

Haley talked loudly over her daughter's laughs. "If you see Jamie, send him in!"

"Yup!" Nathan threw Lydia up a little, caught her, brought her back into the water, and spun her around.

"Daddyeeee!" Lydia shouted gleefully.

Once Haley was gone, he started to settle Lydia down, so they could have one of their talks. He held her close to him and lowered them into the water.

Lydia quieted down and looked at her father with serious eyes. "Mommy?" She asked flipping her hand up.

Nathan smiled at her. He was sure she was the cutest girl that ever lived. She looked just like her mother. The only part of him that he could see in her were the shade of her eyes, but even that was probably of mixture of his hand Haley's. "Mommy's inside. You're just with Daddy. Daddy wanted to talk to you about later on. Auntie Brooke is coming by with Jude and Davis—the babies—"

"Baby!" Lydia repeated.

Nathan smiled again. He was also sure she was the incredibly smart for her age. "Yup, babies; Jude and Davis. Remember, those are boys. You be careful with them. You make sure you let them know who's boss! They are two of them but you're a Scott. You can handle them…..God, we need to get some more girls in this family," he muttered. "And don't forget our rule; you don't get to leave the house until your forty. Got that?"

Lydia examined his face. She pointed to the very faint lingering scar by his cheekbone. "Boo-boo."

Nathan sighed. She had become obsessed with that scar. It was the only one he had left and it didn't help that it was prominently displayed on his face in the glow from the sun. The doctor's assured him it would go away with time but that couldn't be soon enough. He wasn't vain, but it bothered him how Lydia kept pointing it out. It was a physical reminder of what he went through and he didn't like his little girl thinking about it.

"How about you kiss Daddy's boo-boo and make it better?"

Lydia put her wide-open mouth to his cheek, then pulled back and beamed at him.

"That was more of a slobber, but I'll take it! Okay, I think it's time to get out. It's about time for your nap."

Lydia clung to him. "No!"

Nathan pulled back and looked at her. "You need your nap before everyone comes."

Lydia started to tear up. "Daddy," she sobbed with a quivering lip.

How could he deny that? "Oh, okay," Nathan agreed. "A little longer."

He lowered Lydia into the water and turned her on her back. Used to doing this with him, she dutifully stretched her body out and put her head back on the water so she was floating.

Nathan had one hand under her and propped her up with his other hand over her stomach. "There's my girl. You're just like a fish."

Jamie walked out onto the patio from the backyard with his basketball in his hand. "Hey, Dad. Hey, Lydia."

Lydia immediately began squirming, lifting her head to see her brother.

Nathan straightened her out and turned her towards Jamie.

Jamie lay down on his stomach and hung his arms over the edge. "Hey, Lydia! Let's splash Dad!"

Lydia watched for a second as Jamie began splashing water in their direction. She took her big brother's cue and started splashing.

Nathan had to close his eyes, but he kept a firm grip on Lydia as his children had their fun at his expense. "Oh, boy!"

When Jamie stopped, Nathan took the opportunity to get out of the pool.

Jamie handed his father a towel. "Sorry, Dad."

Nathan took the towel and began drying off Lydia. "You're not sorry!"

"No, I'm not," Jamie grinned. He handed him a small pink terry cloth towel. "Here, Dad. This is Lydia's."

Nathan picked up the towel that sort of looked like a robe. It had a hood with the imprint of a flamingo over it. "This new?"

"No. She's had it for a while."

Nathan put the hood on Lydia and wrapped the towel around her. She looked adorable and he knew he hadn't seen it before.

It was just another thing he'd missed when he was away on business or while in captivity. Every now and then there were subtle reminders of this; always when he least expected it. Each one stung. He was still working on letting that guilt go, but found it difficult.

It wasn't just the time apart from his family that bothered him. It was the impact of his decision to go scouting in a dangerous locale. That created a rippling effect that hurt far more people than he'd ever intended. He hated thinking about that; so he didn't. He focused on his family, their friends, his life back in Tree Hill. However, every now and then, it all crept back into his consciousness, like in time like these.

Like always, Nathan pushed those thoughts aside. He picked up Lydia and they all headed inside. When Jamie made to simply run through the kitchen, Nathan stopped him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Go help your mom!"

Jamie sluggishly turned around and slowly headed back into the kitchen. Nathan followed him as Lydia babbled away in his arms.

"Hey, Mom," Jamie sighed. "Dad, said I have to help you."

Haley pointed to the large stack of corn ears on the island counter and the brown paper bag on the floor. "Get shucking, boy!"

She looked over at her husband and daughter. She went up to Lydia and put her hands on her cheeks. "Look at my little flamingo!"

Lydia twisted around shying away from Haley. She hugged Nathan and rested her head on his shoulder.

Haley chuckled. It was her daughter's typical cranky behavior when she was tired. "Guess 'Daddy's Little Girl' is ready for her nap!"

"Yup. I'm just going to give her a quick bath and then put her down."

Haley patted the back of Lydia's head. "Lydia, give Mommy a kiss."

Lydia popped her head up, bent down and kissed Haley on her cheek. She moved her hand to Haley's face and began pushing it towards Nathan.

"You want Mommy to give Daddy a kiss?" Haley wrinkled her nose as she met Nathan's sparkling blue eyes. "I'd be more than happy to!"

Nathan leaned down and shared a chaste kiss with Haley.

Lydia squealed in delight. "Again!"

"If she insists," Nathan said raising his eyebrow.

This time, the kiss was slower and deeper.

Lydia hit her hand repeatedly against Nathan's chest. "Again!"

"No, please, Mom and Dad!" Jamie piped in. "That's gross!"

"It's probably best we stop there," Haley said turning Nathan to leave.

Nathan cast a look over his shoulder at Haley. "But we can pick that up later."

"DAD!" Jamie exclaimed disgustedly.

"Hey, you have work to do!" Nathan said pointing.

Jamie gave a dramatic eye roll and picked up and ear of corn.

Nathan headed off with Lydia.

One he was hard at work peeling off the corn husks, Haley took a seat on the stool next to him.

"You and Dad have been kissing a lot," he said under his breath.

Haley took a corn husk and began helping him out. "Just be happy that you have two parents that are still in love after all these years."

"Yeah, most of my friend's parents are divorced. I know I don't have to worry about that with you and Dad!"

"No, you don't," Haley agreed. "So….you've been practicing a lot."

"Yup. I want to make that prediction come true. Think Dad will mind?"

Haley loved spending time with her son like this. Over the past year, she noticed these cherished moments were diminishing in frequency. Now instead of hanging out around the house, Jamie was often out with his friends. He spent time at the River Court, in the Tree High gym and at his friend's houses. Luckily, she still knew how to reel her son in with activities like this. Sometimes it involved a little work and resistance, but Jamie was a good kid and in the end, he did still enjoy being around his family. "No," she answered confidently. "I think he would be proud of you."

"I hope so. I want to make him proud."

"You do, Jamie," she assured him. "You make both of us proud."

"I want to make Grandpa Dan proud too-from heaven, I mean. Dad told me that the thinks he's up there with Uncle Keith looking down over us."

"He did?" Haley asked slightly surprised. Nathan didn't talk much about his father with her. She suspected it still hurt too much. She could read that in his eyes. She also knew he was trying to be strong for his family, but at least he was talking to Jamie. She knew that was good for both of them.

"Yeah. When we went camping after the funeral during the Burning Boat Festival. Dad talked a lot then. _A real lot_," Jamie stressed. "I think _he_ needed that."

Haley tried to hide her amusement. It was sweet how her son and husband supported each other in their own way, sometimes without realizing it. "Maybe you two should go camping again soon."

Jamie's face lit up. "Yeah! Hey, how about you and Lydia come?"

Haley pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. You have your guy's time and I'll have my time with Lydia."

With only two ears left, they each took one to finish up their task.

"So, are you done with baseball now?" Haley prodded.

"No. I can play two sports, but I want to focus on basketball."

"I bet your Uncle Luke could teach you some tricks when he comes to visit for Thanksgiving. He and your Dad were the best."

"And Skills. Hey! We should have a game with them versus my friends! We could play at the River Court!"

"That sounds like a great idea."

Now finished, Jamie looked seriously at his mother. "Mom," he said hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Should I not talk about Grandpa Dan around Sawyer and Lily? And I was kinda thinking I should take down the pictures in my room when they visit."

Haley took a deep breath as she thought this over. It was such a difficult, complicated situation. "Well, no, I don't think you should take the pictures down. I think your Grandpa Dan meant something different to you then he did to them."

"I don't even think Sawyer knows who he is."

"Probably not. I bet you could talk to your Uncle Luke about it though. Ask his opinion. He'll tell you what he thinks."

"Yeah," Jamie nodded. "That's a good idea. It's just weird," he shrugged disappointedly.

"Jamie, it's always going to be a little weird, but we'll deal with it. Above all, we're a family. So, just be sensitive about how the rest of the family feels, but don't hide what you feel either."

"Thanks, Mom." Jamie leaned up on the stool and looked towards the kitchen counter. "Hey, Dad's grilling steaks, right?"

"Around dinnertime. We're going to have hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch."

"So steaks mean you're going to make your green bean casserole, right?"

Haley smiled knowing it was one of Jamie's favorite dishes. She got up from her stool and put her hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Just for you."

"Well, bring the green beans over," Jamie said bouncing up and down on his knees. "I like to snap them."

"Tell you what—how about we do it together?"

* * *

After taking a quick shower, Nathan came out of the bathroom and was startled to find Haley in the bedroom. She was laying out some clothes for him, as she hummed a song.

Holding the towel around his waist with one hand, he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. "Hey, beautiful," he purred into her ear.

Haley let go of the shirt she had been refolding. She fell back against Nathan, basking in the warmth of his body from the shower. "You caught me. I was trying to act busy so I could catch a peek of you getting out of the shower."

Nathan let go of her so she could turn around to get her peek. Seeing the door to the bedroom was closed, he let his towel drop to the floor. "Is this good? You know I thought you had your fill of me last night, but I guess not."

"Nathan!" Haley gasped and bent down picked up the towel. She tried to cover up his lower half with it, but he kept stepping back and refused to take it.

"I could tell with that kiss you gave me downstairs," he continued. "Can't believe you did that when I was holding our daughter—"

"You kissed me!" Haley argued.

Nathan stood still and let Haley press up against him as she held the towel with one hand over his body. "Now, you're stalking me, ready to pounce on me, when I get out of the shower. Tsk, tsk."

"Nathan, we have company coming," Haley weakly pointed out as she brought her free hand to his shoulder. She just had to touch that hot piece of flesh staring back at her.

Nathan put his hands around to his wife's ass. He began to push towards her, shuffling them towards the bed. "You wouldn't have come up here if we didn't have time."

Haley smiled as she sat down on the bed and pushed his clothes aside. He knew her too well. She usually wasn't like this, but lately…well, they hadn't been able to keep their hands off of each other. "It's your fault! You're so damn sexy!"

Nathan gently pushed her back on the bed. He slid down next to her. He reached under her dress, ran his hands up the length of her legs and stopped at her soft cotton panties. He began to push them down.

"Quick, Nathan," Haley said impatiently. "This has got to be quick."

Nathan looked down at his prominent erection. "You don't have to worry about that. I got myself worked up in the shower thinking about you and that kiss. I was going to come find—"

Haley reached up and tersely grabbed at his shoulders. She brought him down to her and kissed with all the passion she could muster.

Nathan responded by putting all his weight on her as he kissed her back. He ran one hand through her hair, messing up her careful styling and moved the other back under her dress.

Haley had to turn her away from him so she could breathe. "Oh, God," she moaned.

Nathan put his finger on her chin and gently directly her back to him. He shifted so he was hovering above her, resting his weight on his palms. His eyes beamed with seriousness. "I could never get enough of you, Haley James. Never," he whispered lowly.

"Me either," Haley whispered. "Never."

It was a new theme with them. Along with always and forever, _never_ was important.

They vowed to _never_ to stop loving each other. They vowed _never_ to let go of what they had. They vowed _never_ to take each other for granted.

They vowed _never_ to be a part again.

* * *

Nathan walked out onto the pool patio and pushed up next to Clay. He handed him a bottle of beer, then took a sip of his own. "How's it going, _Dad_?"

Instead of his typical half-smile, Clay grinned from ear to ear as he watched Jamie and Logan. The boys were off in the distance in the yard playing catch. "It's going great!"

"Okay, so how's it going, _Husband_?" Nathan joked. "Still can't believe you two got hitched like that!"

"Dude, look who's talking," Clay shot back.

"Yeah, I guess," Nathan admitted. "So, seriously—how are you adjusting to all of this?"

"I'm cool," Clay said honestly. "I think it helped seeing you for the past few years and feeling like I was a part of this family."

"And now you are," Nathan said happily. "BIL."

"Huh?" Clay asked puzzled.

"It's what Haley called Luke when we first got married. BIL-brother-in-law."

"Please don't call me that," Clay huffed. "Hey, who's that girl Skills brought and why is everyone so surprised to see her?"

"That's Bevin; she was the big surprise he's been hyping up. She went to Tree Hill with us. She and Skills dated our senior year and then she married someone else we went to school with—Tim Smith. Tim used to be a friend of mine. He was a little obsessed with me," Nathan said scratching the back of his neck. "So, anyway, I guess they divorced and Skills met up with her again."

"So, let me get this straight—This Bevin and Tim named their son 'Nathan'…After you?" Clay asked incredulously.

"I don't know," Nathan said dismissively. "And I don't want to, either."

"Well, that explains all the weird looks people have been giving to that kid! Poor kid with a name like that," Clay said sarcastically.

"So says the guy who named his kid after a comic book character."

"Dude," Clay said sharply. "_Do. Not. Go. There_."

"You're right. You are a strange duck," Nathan said.

Finished with playing catch, Jamie and Logan joined their father's on the patio.

"Hey, Dad," Jamie said out of breath.

"Hey, where's Bevin's son, Nathan?" Nathan asked.

"He's kind of annoying," Jamie said.

"All he wants to do is play video games," Logan chimed in.

"So, we left him inside with Chuck," Jamie said. "We want to go in the pool, now. Can we?"

Clay leaned towards Nathan and whispered. "I'm embarrassed to say I don't know if my own kid knows how to swim."

Logan walked around the patio with wide eyes as he examined the pool. "This is awesome!"

"How's he doing with the beach?" Nathan whispered.

"Better. Quinn's good with him. He's gone in with her a few times, but still not all the way."

"Well, we're right here and we have some floaties."

Logan came back over to them. "This is really cool. I think I'll like the pool better than the beach!"

"You want to go in?" Nathan asked. "You brought your swimsuit, right?"

Logan pointed at his long drawstring trunks with an X-Men print. "I have them on! Can I Dad?"

"Now?" Jamie asked. "I have my swimsuit on, too. Can we?"

Nathan deferred to Clay.

Clay bent down to Logan and looked at his shorts. "This is a swimsuit?"

"Mom got them for me," Logan explained.

Clay smiled at that reference to Quinn. "How about I get changed into my swimsuit and I go in with you?"

"I'm not a baby, Dad. Just put some floaties on me," Logan said.

Nathan tried not to laugh. Despite Clay's claim, he could tell the 'new Dad' was still nervous about making a mistake with his son. "Hey, Jamie. Go get Skills and see if he wants to go in with you."

"Yeah! He's so much fun. Remember the water balloon fight with had with him, Logan? Let's go get him!"

"Yeah! Let's get him," Logan agreed.

The boys took off, with Logan hot on Jamie's heels.

Clay stood up, crossed his arms and shrugged. "Why do I feel like my coolness has worn off? Like Skills is fun and I'm not."

Nathan patted Clay on the back. "Don't sweat it and don't take it personally. If anything, take it a sign you're a real dad and not the fun uncle."

Clay gave Nathan an approving smile then turned serious. "I still want the floaties."

Nathan and Clay put down their beers and walked over to large chest. Nathan opened the chest and pulled out two red deflated floaties. He handed one to Clay and took the other. The guys were just finished blowing them up when Skills, Logan and Jamie can bursting outside.

Clay dunked the floaties in the pool to wet them. "Come here, Logan. Let me get these on you."

"Now, why do you want me to go in the pool with you?" Skills asked skeptically. He ran his hand over his bald head. "Don't tell me it's because you want me to mess up my hair."

Logan giggled. "He's so funny," he said to his father as Clay slipped the floaties over his arms.

"Oh yeah. Just don't trust him to watch you at a wedding," Jamie said smugly.

"Boy! Don't make me throw you in that pool!" Skills said loudly.

Jamie nodded vehemently and bounced up and down on his toes. "Do it! Please!"

Skills took off his shirt. "How about we play a game of chicken?"

"Chicken! What's that?" Logan asked with a look of pure confusion.

"It's when you get on someone's shoulders and so does another person, then you try to knock them over," Jamie explained.

Clay looked nervously at Nathan. "I'm not sure that's a good id—"

"Yeah! Dad! I want to be on your shoulders!" Logan said jumping up and down.

"No offense, Skills, but I want my Dad, too," Jamie said seriously. "He's the strongest guy here."

Skills threw his hands up in frustration. "Well, I don't know why the hell I'm here then!"

"Why don't you go get little Nate?" Clay suggested with smirk.

"Oh yeah! He's a feisty one!" Skills pointed at Jamie. "You watch out, J-Luke. You're going down like that Burning Boat!" He went to go inside, but stopped and turned back around. "Oh. I forgot you didn't get to go Burning Boat this year."

Jamie began shuffling around in his feet.

"He's seen it before," Nathan said.

"Yeah, but this year, with your Momma at the helm," Skills said looking at Jamie. "Well, you two picked one damn year to miss it!"

"Yeah," Jamie said sighed dramatically. "Can't believe we missed that, huh, Dad? Thanks for reminding me Skills. Oh, well. Maybe next year," he said disappointedly looking as sullen as possible.

Nathan discreetly rolled his eyes at his son. Jamie was laying it on a little too thick. They had snuck in after all, just in time for Haley's speech. They'd blended in with the thick crowd with their dark clothing and baseball caps. They were in and out—only there long enough to hear her speech and see the lighting of the boat. Then, they'd headed directly back to their campsite. Thus far, even Haley didn't know, but he was sure she'd figure it out eventually. For now, it was just a secret between him and Jamie.

"Alright, I'm going to get my swimsuit," Nathan said. "Clay, you watch after these hellions."

Skills and Nathan headed inside the house. They walked through the kitchen and into the living room where Brooke and Haley were sitting on the floor amidst a wide spread of toys surrounding Lydia, Jude and Davis.

Seeing her father, Lydia got up and ran over to him as fast she could. Just before she reached him, she wobbled a little and fell against Nathan's legs. "Daddy!" She tried to hand him the plastic square in her hands.

Jude and Davis dropped their toys and took off crawling after Lydia.

Nathan looked helpless at Haley as he bent down to Lydia. He picked her up and brought her back over to the pile of toys. He spotted a Fisher Price cash register that he knew Lydia loved. "Hey, Lyd, why don't you show Jude and Davis your cash register?"

After Brooke cleared out some space, Haley pulled out the cash register to the middle of the open area. She pulled on the lever on the side and the drawer popped open with a ding. That was all Jude and Davis needed to hear. They crawled back over to the toys in record time. Content that all three kids were being distracted, Nathan snuck away upstairs.

Brooke looked over the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. "When did you put that baby gate up? Did you wait until Lydia took her first steps? I think these guys are going to be on their feet any day now and Julian and I were talking about putting one up soon just in case one of them takes off on us!"

"That's probably not a bad idea. I waited until Nathan was home, but that was just because…" Haley fell silent as a series of unpleasant memories came to her. "Lydia was more timid with Nathan gone. Now that he's back and been around, she's fearless, as you can see. You should see her in the pool. She jumps right off the deck into Nathan's arms. Only him, though. She won't do it with anyone else."

"That's sweet," Brooke cooed. "She loves and trusts her daddy."

"Well, I wouldn't mind if she slows down a little. She takes off running like she's a track star. I think her legs have trouble keeping up with mind."

Brooke doled out plastic colored coins to each of the kids. She gave them each a color. Lydia got red, Jude got yellow and Davis got green. She tried to hide the remaining blue coins, but Lydia was watching her closely.

"Mine!" Lydia shouted pointing at the blue coins behind Brooke's back.

"Lydia," Haley interjected in a stern tone. "Show Jude and Davis how to put the coins in."

Lydia promptly put the red coins in the top of the cash register and pushed down the lever below the slot. Brooke began to guide her boys into doing the same.

"This is one of her favorite toys," Haley said. "Dan gave it to her."

"How's Nathan doing?" Brooke asked with concern.

"He's well. I still don't think it has hit him that Dan is gone."

"I bet it will when he sees Lucas," Brooke said quietly and nervously.

Haley ran her hand through the hair, which was now a messy assortment of curls due to her interlude with Nathan. It had lasted longer than either one of them anticipated and they barely had time to sort themselves when Chase arrived with Chuck.

"Hey, your hair looks good by the way," Brooke complimented her. "You should do it like that more often."

"Oh, yeah. More often," Haley nodded.

As they talked, Lydia got up and walked over and around Brooke, carefully stepping over toys. She picked up the blue coins and carefully walked back around to the cash register. She pushed in front of Davis and put her blue coins in the slots. She swiftly slammed her hand on the button on the top of cash register causing the coins to slide out the side of the cash register.

Both Davis and Jude's eyes opened wide once they saw the coins coming out in their direction. They each grabbed one, much to Lydia's dismay.

"Mine!" Lydia cried.

Jude and Davis took off crawling as fast as they could. Once on her feet, Lydia took off after them.

At first, Brooke and Haley made a move to grab the children, but they soon saw this was turning into a fun game of chase. Lydia swopped past the boys, laughing and circling around the spread of toys and the coffee table. The twin boys, both dropping their coins, began to chase after her.

Haley was just about to be the one to end the fun when Nathan appeared on the stairwell.

Although this whole chase scene couldn't have lasted more than ten seconds, the next few seconds appeared to be strung out over the course of a minute as things happened in slow motion.

"What is—" Nathan started to say as he spotted the ruckus down below.

Out of the corner of her eye, Brooke spotted the blue coin that lay in Lydia's path. She made a move to grab it, but she didn't have enough time.

Lydia stopped watching where she was going as her head shot up towards her father. "Daddy!"

"Lydia!" Haley shouted instinctively.

A half a second later, Lydia tripped over the coin and fell face first into the coffee table. Her eye caught one of the sharp corners and a thud sounded as her forehead hit the table.

There was an eerie silence as Haley and Nathan swopped in on their daughter. Although Nathan practically flew through the air as he jumped over the baby gate, Haley reached her first. She was just in time for the deafening scream that seemed to shake the house.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lydia wailed.

Haley picked her up and Lydia buried her face into her shoulder. She emitted piercing screams as her body convulsed and heaved. This made things worse, as the point of Lydia's injury kept coming into contact with her mother.

Haley kept her hand on her daughter's back as she bounced up and down trying to soothe her.

Nathan stood by feeling utter helpless, as Haley tried to calm Lydia down enough so they could see the damage. No matter how many times he'd been through this kind of thing—the cuts and bruises that came with the territory of children—it never stopped the heartbreak he felt when his children cried in pain. There was no worse feeling. He'd gladly take any of that pain for them, but he couldn't. And when they were in that kind of pain, they usually wanted their mother. He couldn't blame them. Haley was the most nurturing person he knew.

As people filtered in, he guided them away. Brooke took the hint and she and Julian took their kids outside.

Lydia was finally starting to calm down, when Jamie came in, dripping wet from the pool.

"Dad! What happened?" He asked with panic fear in his eyes.

Nathan tried to get a look at his daughter's face but she had it plastered into Haley's chest. "Your sister had a run-in with the coffee table."

Nathan gently stroked Lydia's cheek with his finger. "Baby, let Daddy see. Look at Daddy."

Lydia turned her head and screamed out in pain. Her hand shot to her eye and she screamed out again.

Nathan turned to Jamie. "Go upstairs and change and get me a shirt."

"We're going to hospital?" Haley asked meekly.

"Yeah," Nathan sighed. "There's blood—I think she's going to need stiches. Let me get a facecloth."

Haley tried to get a look at her daughter's face, but Lydia was clinging ferociously to her. "Oh, baby," she said rubbing her head as Lydia softly cried and sniffled. "It's going be okay. We're going to go to the doctor's."

"Daddy," Lydia murmured.

"Yeah, Daddy's here. Daddy's coming." Haley closed her eyes as she was hit with the gravity of those words.

Nathan was here. He was here. Not gone.

Her other half, the man who was always cool, calm and rational in a crisis, was there. She didn't have to deal with this alone.

She began to take heavy breaths as everything came back to her. She had been so close to losing him. She's almost lost her husband. Her children almost lost their father.

She couldn't imagine life without him. She didn't think she could do this without him. She couldn't handle it. She needed him so much.

Haley muffled her sobs but tears unavoidably began streaming down her face.

By the time, Nathan came back out with a wet facecloth and towel, he found both Haley and Lydia crying. Although his heart was beating wildly, he managed to keep his attention on Lydia.

Lydia still had her head to the side so her wounds were exposed. It made it easier for Nathan to see what he was dealing with.

Her right eye was swollen shut and there was a developing red welt at the corner of her eyebrow and eye. It was already the size of grape. Just below that was a trail of dark blood matted along the side of her face.

Nathan gingerly began wiping it up, despite the cries and squirms. He wiped up as much as he could, but she wouldn't let him get to the gash that extended over her eyelid.

"How is it?" Haley asked.

"I can't see if it goes over her eyelid, but it looks like she's got two things going here. She's got a bump above her eye, but it's her eye I'm worried about."

"Daddy," Lydia cried. "Boo-Boo."

"Yeah," Nathan sighed, trying his best to control the pain growing in his heart. "You got a nasty boo-boo." He kissed the side of her head.

Haley looked away as her tears started up again.

"Dad," Jamie said breathlessly as he scurried down the stairs. Dressed in a fresh t-shirt, shorts and Crocs, he had Lydia's diaper bag hung over his shoulder and was carrying a shirt for his father. "I got Lydia's stuff. I even got her favorite book."

Nathan took the shirt from Jamie and put it on. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Jamie said sounding insulted. "Let's go."

"Let me grab my keys." Nathan ran into the kitchen, found his keys, and joined his family out the driveway.

Lydia was back to wailing as she refused to budge from her mother's arms to go into the car seat.

"Nathan," Haley said helplessly. "She won't let me go. She….She won't let me…She won't let me go."

"Just get in the back seat," Nathan said firmly. "Just hold her back there. I'll drive slowly." He looked at Jamie, help your mom.

Haley climbed into the back of the Range Rover, next to the empty car seat.

Jamie shut the door and ran around to the other side. He climbed in the back seat and threw down the diaper bag on the floor. He tried to get a look at his sister, but her head was turned away from him. She had quieted down and Haley was rubbing her back.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Nathan looked carefully around. "Are we good?"

"Yeah," Jamie answered.

"Daddy," Lydia cried.

"I'm here," Nathan answered. "We're going to the doctor's."

"The doctor's or the hospital?" Jamie asked.

"The hospital," Nathan said reluctantly.

They were going back to that damn hospital; the hospital that held so many haunting memories. It was all too soon. Honestly, he never wanted to see that hospital again. Yet, that was directly where they were headed.

"Daddy," Lydia cried again.

Nathan sighed heavily. He looked at Haley in his rearview mirror. "Does she want me to go back there and hold her?"

"No," Haley said quietly. "She can't see you. She just wants to know you're here."

"Oh," Nathan said taking in a deep breath.

Haley leaned back against the backseat and closed her eyes. She kept rubbing her daughter's back as source of comfort for both of them. "Just keep talking. Let us hear you."

"I'm here," Nathan choked out. He cleared his throat so he could sound like the strong source of support he knew his family needed. "Daddy's right here and I'm not going anywhere. We're going to take care of you—Your Mom and I….and Jamie. You hear that, Lydia? We're all here; together."

* * *

AN: Please don't kill me. I wanted to tap into some emotional drama and thought about how kids get hurt all of the time, so I figure that would trigger some of those things. There was actually so much more I wanted to write, but I had to stop myself. Also, I started this before I saw the finale, so give me some leeway on OTH's screwy timeline. I did the best I could to tie what I had going w/Marit's piece and the show.

So now's it's up to Marit to pick things up. We've talked and she has free reign to take this wherever she wants. Still, feel free to give us ideas, suggestions and feedback! We can also work in flashbacks along the way if there is something you wanted to see that season 9 did not address. Hope to hear from you!


	2. Chapter 4

Never Let Me Go

**Disclaime**r: Characters, minor plot points, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwahn, and One Tree Hill writers.

**AN: **This is a **rotating feature** by mAu0103 and me (inspired by Diamond Gothic) - with the possibility of occasional guest authors, but we'll let you know when and who, when it comes to that. This will basically be "one story", which, as of now will be composed on two different accounts.

We will try and keep this from getting too confusing by constantly reminding you what order to read things/from what author. If any of you get/are confused or have questions, please don't hesitate to ask us! We're also available on twitter (mAu0103& Katg0507). When we are done, we will probably compile everything together on both accounts for easy reading.

For now, in order to follow along, we suggest you get story alerts on stories on each of our accounts. Also refer back to the guide we are setting up for updated information. Here is what we have so far:

"Everything"—posted by Kat0507 This one shot deals with the Scott family readjusting to life after Nathan's kidnapping and Dan's death. It also helps explains Nathan/Jamie's absence in 9x12.

Chapter 1—posted by mAu0103 This one shot takes place in between 9x12 and 9x13. Nathan and Haley have some alone time and reconnect as a couple.

Chapter 2-posted by Kat0507. This chapter picks up after the Tric anniversary celebration in 9x13, but before the time jump at the end of the series finale. The Scotts host a family/friend cookout and admits the happy chaos, Lydia gets hurt.

Chapter 3-posted by mAu0103. This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 2. The Scotts spend some time at the hospital and return home with a healthy, but injured Lydia.

Chapter 4—posted by Kat0507 (**this chapter!**). This chapter continues from Chapter 3. It picks up the next morning.

Chapter 5—will be posted by **mAu0103**.

Chapter 4

AN: Thanks to **Dawn** for looking this over and for her suggestions (which I used). She deserves her due credit!

Nathan woke up hearing the gentle pitter-patter of rain from outside. It was a comforting feeling, one that would typically lure him back to sleep if it weren't for the discomfort he was experiencing. There was sharp edge sticking into his neck and a thumping pain just under his left armpit.

Not too worried, but slightly annoyed for the disturbance to his restful slumber, he opened his eyes. It was just as he thought. He gently picked up his wife's arm by the elbow, removed it from his neck and moved it back to her side of the bed. He lifted up the covers, looked down and chuckled. There was no point in trying to deal with that one. "Now I got two of them," he laughed aloud.

Haley lifted her head up from her pillow, opened one eye and sighed heavily. "Huh?"

Nathan lifted the covers up higher for her to see.

Haley looked down and saw Lydia lodged under the covers in between her and Nathan. She was on her stomach with her head close to Haley's midsection and had her feet up under Nathan's arm. "Can she breathe down there?"

Nathan lifted up his arm to show Lydia's moving foot digging into his side. "I'd say she's alive and kicking."

Haley smiled. "How does she get like that?"

Nathan cocked his head and gave her a sideways glance.

At this point in their marriage, they didn't always need to communicate with words. Haley understood his implication that Lydia was just like her. Haley gave him a silent message of her own as she looked at her daughter's tiny feet.

A second later, Nathan and Haley each grabbed one of Lydia's feet and began kissing them.

"I'm hungry," Nathan said in between kisses.

"Me too. These are yummy, yummy feet," Haley added.

Lydia started giggling from under the covers. She quickly kicked her way free, twisted around and crawled up the bed. She poked her head up by Haley and smiled brightly. "Mommy!"

Haley opened her arms up to welcome her daughter. On this dreary fall day, that smile was the ray that could warm her heart. "Come here, sunshine!"

In her pink Disney Princesses nightgown, Lydia crawled up her mother, forcefully resting her hands on Haley's chest.

Haley winced and picked up Lydia to readjust her. "Oh, my baby girl!" She said hugging her tightly.

Lydia pulled free from her mother's grip, then rested it back down and sighed, "Mommy."

Haley patted her daughters head, carefully brushing aside the wisps of honey blonde hair by the stiches over her right eye. At some point, the bandaid had come off during the night. Haley examined them closely and saw that everything looked intact. Maybe they could keep the bandaid off for a while. It would be good to give it some fresh air, as long as Lydia didn't pick at it.

"Hey, what about me?" Nathan said propping himself up on his elbow. "I thought you were Daddy's Girl."

Lydia, clearly excited to be the center of both her parent's attention, popped her head up and crawled towards Nathan. Just as she reached him, she turned back towards Haley and went in that direction. As both her parents clamored for her, Lydia teased them going back and forth until Nathan scooped her up and held her up in front of him.

"Hey! You're Daddy's Girl! Got that? Daddy's!"

Lydia laughed loudly as her father bounced her up and down in the air.

When Lydia got a little too loud for his ears, Nathan slowly brought her to him and gave his baby girl the hug and kiss he'd been craving. Then he set her down to let her go on her own.

Lydia sat up in between Nathan and Haley and looked around. She held up both her hands, palm first. Not quite comfortable saying Jamie just yet, she used the name she preferred. "Yames?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's sleeping," Haley said sitting up.

"Why don't you call for him?" Nathan egged her on.

Knowing the set of lungs on her daughter, Haley quickly went to cover her ears.

Lydia pulled herself up so she was standing. "YAMES! YAIM! YAMES!"

Nathan laughed his head off as Lydia frantically called for her brother.

Not more than a minute later, Jamie sluggishly strolled into their bedroom as if getting ready to serve his time in jail. "I'm here."

"Yames!" Lydia smiled in satisfaction as she pointed at her brother.

"Morning, Lydia," Jamie yawned. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and looked out towards the sliding glass doors. The blinds were slightly parted showing a steady stream of rain. "Can I have Chuck over today?"

"No!" Nathan and Haley said in unison.

"Why not?" Jamie whined. "It's raining. There's _nothing_ to do."

Nathan and Haley shared a smile. "We like the rain," Haley said for both of them.

Lydia pointed up towards the ceiling. "Rain!"

"Well, I don't like the rain," Jamie said miserably resting his hand on his chin.

Nathan looked seriously at Haley. "I think it's time we tell him."

"Are you sure?" Haley played along. "Is he ready?"

"I think so." Nathan waved Jamie over. "Come here, son."

Jamie remained firmly planted at the foot of the bed and rolled his eyes at his parents.

"Okay, but just know that your mother and I love you no matter what—like you were one of our own," Nathan deadpanned.

"What are you talking about?" Jamie asked standing up.

"Well," Nathan said dramatically, "your mother and I found you on the side of the road and we couldn't just leave you there."

Jamie got up off the bed, crossed his arms and glared at his father, clearly not amused. "Real nice, Dad. You're trying to say I'm adopted."

"I'm just saying—_I_ like the rain, _your mother_ likes the rain—_Lydia_, do you like the rain?"

Lydia pointed out towards the glass doors. "Rain!"

"See!"

"Dad, I've seen the pictures of Mom pregnant with me—the ones in your yearbook."

"See, then there was a mix up at the hospital," Nathan continued.

Jamie ignored his father. He held out his hand for Lydia. "Come on, Lydia. Let's go get breakfast. You want Fruit Loops?"

Hearing the mention of food, Lydia scurried towards Jamie. Jamie lifted her off the bed and held her hand as he led her towards the hallway.

"Loops!" Lydia said excitedly to her parents. She waved bye with her free hand. "Bye-Bye!"

"Bye-Bye," Haley waved back.

"Hey, want to change her diaper while you're at it," Nathan called out teasingly. The words were barely out his mouth when Haley tackled him putting him flat on his back.

Haley snuggled her face by Nathan's shoulder blade and put her hands on his sides and gave him a series of tight squeezes. She followed it up with kiss on his cheek. They were simple, sweet gestures, but ones she dutifully performed every morning. She didn't want a day to go by with her husband getting a hug or kiss from her.

Now anxious to get moving for the day, Haley tried to sick back up, but Nathan wouldn't let her. He clasped his arms on her lower back and held her down. "Just a few more minutes," he coaxed her.

"A few minutes," Haley easily conceded.

Nathan responded with his own daily ritual. "Good morning, beautiful," he said tenderly, as he kissed the side of her forehead.

As Nathan looked at her, Haley felt her breath slipping away. She cleared her dry throat. "Good morning," she said quietly.

Haley suddenly sprung up. "I need to give Lydia her medicine."

Nathan was always grateful that Haley remembered things like that. It took the pressure off of him knowing how well she took care of their children. "She seemed better this morning."

"She always sleeps better with us," Haley noted as she got out of bed. Jamie did too. They tried not to make a habit of it, but during tough times, everyone always slept better when they were together. She walked over to the sliding glass doors, pulled the blinds fully back and looked out. It was hard to see beyond the blurry lines of rain cascading down the door. Although she loved the rain, she hated not being able to see things clearly.

Nathan didn't have to see her face to know what she was thinking. Over the past few months, he noticed how easily she was startled, how often she double-checked the doors were locked, and paid close attention to her surroundings. "You're still nervous."

Haley turned back to face him. "I can't help it," she said guiltily.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You already are," Haley said simply. "You're here."

"And I'm not going anywhere," Nathan assured her.

"I know," Haley smiled. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her bathrobe and slipped it on. "Today is a family day."

"Oh, yeah? What are we doing?" Nathan asked in the midst of a yawn.

"We're going to show our kids how we can make the most of a rainy day."

"God, I love you," Nathan grinned.

"You'll love me even more after I make us a nice breakfast."

Nathan turned over so he was on his stomach. He put his hands under his pillow and rested his head down. "Actually, I'll love you more if you let me sleep a little longer."

"A little longer," Haley said. "Don't keep us waiting too long."

"I won't," Nathan promised. "Just a few more minutes."

* * *

As Nathan neared the kitchen, he could hear Jamie nagging Haley for Chuck to come over. He knew how he could put an end to that.

"But Mom!" Jamie protested. "There's _nothing_ to do," he said dramatically. "We won't even bother you! All we're going to do is play Gears of War!"

"No," Haley said flatly.

Nathan walked into the kitchen. Haley had her back to him. She was standing over the counter using the waffle maker. Jamie was sluggishly sitting at their kitchen table with Lydia's high chair pulled up next to it. His daughter was quietly flipping through a book. The table was set for breakfast, with bowls of strawberries, blueberries and crisp bacon already awaiting them. He couldn't wait to dig in.

"Hey Mom," Nathan said purposely imitating Jamie's whiney voice, "do you think I could have a friend over today? One who knows how to play Gears of War because I'm getting bored playing with people that I can beat."

Jamie shot to us feet and marched over to his father. "You're not funny!"

The two boys quickly started horsing around, using their arms to push and shove each other.

"Oh yeah," Nathan goaded him. "You're a sore loser."

"I want a rematch!"

"Meow, meow," Lydia began calling out.

With all the noise and commotion, Haley tried her best to focus on making the waffles but grew annoyed. It was just like her husband to come into a quiet, peaceful room and get the kids all wound up with a few minutes. Yes, they were finally getting back to being regular family. Her irritation, Nathan and Jamie's playfully fighting and Lydia call for attention, were all signs of normalcy in her book. It was comforting.

Nathan grabbed his son's wrists firmly as Jamie twisted and turned. "Why? So I can kick your ass again?"

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Jamie shot back as he lifted his foot to try and kick at his father.

Haley spun around to face them. "Language!"

Nathan recognized that look in Haley. He quickly dropped Jamie's hands and wandered over to the kitchen table.

"Yeah, Dad," Jamie said taking seat next to him. "Watch what you say in front of Lydia."

Haley walked over to the kitchen table, laid her palms on the table and leaned in towards Nathan and Jamie. Everyone, including Lydia, straightened up and looked at Haley with wide eyes.

She focused on her son first. "Jamie, you are not to use that language _at all_, whether you're in front of Lydia or not!"

Now it was Nathan's turn. "Are you his father or his sidekick?"

"Hmph," Nathan scoffed. "He's _my_ sidekick."

"I am not!" Jamie protested.

"Ruff, ruff," Lydia barked from the top of her lungs. "Ruff, ruff."

Then tension quickly left the air as Nathan, Haley and Jamie all laughed at Lydia.

Lydia smiled broadly and then started laughing with them, in a highly overdramatic fashion.

Nathan reached over and patted the back of his daughters head and gave her kiss on the cheek. "You're a goof."

"So what are we going to do today?" Jamie sighed.

"Things are definitely getting back to normal," Haley said shaking her head. "For starters, today is a pajama day. We're staying in them all day…"

* * *

Later on that day, Nathan could sense the children were starting to get restless. They were sitting on the floor in the living room, playing a game of "Go Fish" but with a deck of Disney Princess cards. It was a compromise effort designed to appeal to both of their children. Although Jamie was being a good sport about it, he was getting bored. At first, Lydia was supposed to be on his team, but that hadn't lasted long. She floated back and forth between Jamie and her parents, pulling at cards and redistributing them. It was funny at first, but eventually became tiresome. At that point, Nathan disappeared, promising to return with a more suitable game.

As they waited, Haley and Jamie shifted the game into a game of matching up the Princesses for Lydia.

Haley held up the card with Cinderella's picture. "Okay, Lydia. Where's Cinderella?"

"Rella!" Lydia clapped.

Jamie began discreetly sliding the card of Cinderella on the floor in Lydia's direction. "Hmmm. Where is Cinderella?"

Suddenly, the lights went out. An uncomfortable darkness spread over the room. Lydia threw herself in Haley's arms and Jamie stood up.

"Dad?" Jamie called out anxiously.

Nathan entered the room with an armful of flashlights. He handed one to Haley first. "Looks like it's just you, me and the darkness, Hales…." He smiled. "Oh, and you," he said handing Lydia a small flashlight.

"Sounds kind of nice," Haley said with a knowing wink as she switched on her flashlight. She got up from the floor and began lighting a few candles around the room.

"Da-ad," Jamie said expectantly after he helped Lydia with her flashlight.

"And you," Nathan said tossing him a flashlight. "Couldn't forget you. Not at a time like this."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jamie asked with a puzzled expression.

Nathan took a seat on the couch and waved him over. "Come on. It's time we have a talk."

"Dad, stop messing with me. I know I'm a Scott and I'll prove it when I break your record!"

"I'm not messing you. I'm going to tell you a story about a night like this, a long time ago."

Haley shot Nathan a nervous look. He very slightly shook his head, silently telling her not to worry. Nonetheless, she picked up Lydia and they moved next to Jamie on the couch.

"Dad, no matter what you say, I'm not going to like the rain. This rain means I can't practice basketball."

"There's more to life than basketball. Your mom taught me that one."

"I know, but I really need to practice, Dad. I don't want to miss a day."

"Relax," Nathan said putting his hand on his son's knee. "One day won't kill you. So, Hales," he said looking over at her, "you remember that day?"

"Yes," Haley said skeptically.

"What happened?" Jamie asked.

"Your father and I always seem to get caught out in the rain," Haley began to explain.

"And we learned to have fun in it," Nathan finished. "And one night, we were at my house—Grandma Deb's house actually, and the lights went out. It was a bad storm and the roads were closed."

Jamie looked down at his hands. "Was it worse than last year?"

"No," Haley said pulling him into her side as those horrible memories invaded her. "That one was different."

Nathan looked carefully at Jamie. He was starting to understand why his son didn't care for the rain. It had definitely played a factor in the car accident he'd been in with Miss Lauren that ended with him trapped in the car. "Your mom and I don't like that kind of rain either. It's more like we like being at home in the rain—safe and together—as a family."

"Like the night we're telling you about," Haley said.

Jamie straightened up. "So what happened?"

"Since we had no power, we had to eat the ice cream," Nathan said feigning disappointment.

"And foods with missing consonants," Haley added cheekily.

"You two are weird….Then what?" Jamie asked looking form one parent to the next.

"We talked. Your dad made a fire," Haley said looking at Nathan. "We were worried about deciding between Duke and Stanford—"

"You were," Nathan said pointing at her. "I knew we'd figured it out."

"Did you?" Jamie asked.

"Not that night," Haley explained. "But we did figure out a few things. I told your dad how much he meant to me, even while I was on tour."

"And I told you mom how proud I was of her every day she was on that tour."

"Then," Haley continued, "he showed me all the newspaper and magazine clippings he saved while I was gone."

"The ones in the scrapbook?" Jamie asked.

"They got a little wet; that's why they're a little crinkly," Nathan said resignedly.

Haley could the image of Nathan standing in his boxers, hanging up those clippings across the long string with clothes pins, so vividly. It was just like it was yesterday. "You dried them," she reminded him.

"And you put them in that scrapbook," Nathan recalled.

"I don't get it," Jamie said confused. "You didn't go to Duke or Stanford. So what was the big deal about that night if all you did was talk?"

Nathan and Haley locked eyes and shared a smile.

"Something else happened that night," Nathan said with a glint in his eyes, as he held Haley's gaze.

Still sharing the smile and look with Nathan, Haley put her hand on Jamie's arm. "Something else brought your father and me closer together."

"What?" Jamie asked, even more confused by the strange looks his parents were exchanging.

Nathan and Haley simultaneously leaned in and gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek.

"Ugh!" Jamie said twisted his head. "What's that for?"

Nathan and Haley laughed and luckily they didn't have to explain anymore because of Lydia. As soon as she could, Lydia leaned over and gave Jamie kiss as well.

"Awww," Haley cooed.

Jamie wiped the slobber from his cheek. "I don't get it."

Nathan abruptly stood up. "Didn't you hear? We ate ice cream _for dinner_!"

Jamie's face lit up. He jumped off the couch in excitement. "Can we?" He turned to Haley. "Can we, Mom?"

"Sure, but it's going to have to be Rocky Road—"

"I like Rocky Road," Jamie said running off to the kitchen with his flashlight in hand.

"Of course you do. You're your father's sidekick," Haley joked.

Nathan and Haley got up from the couch. Haley had Lydia on her hip. Lydia was fiddling with her flashlight, trying to figure out how to turn it on.

"Nice save, by the way," Haley said. "I had no idea where you were going with that."

"I couldn't help myself. I love thinking about that night. Someday we're going to have to tell him he's our _rain love child_."

"No," Haley said laughing. "We don't need to give him all the details." She looked towards the window. It didn't look that stormy out. She gave Nathan a curious look. "About the lights…"

"Don't worry about it," Nathan said a wink. "They'll come back on when we're ready for them."

"Mom! Dad!" Jamie's voice rang out from the kitchen. "We have mint chocolate chip, too! We have to eat it all before it melts!"

"Chips!" Lydia said squirming.

Haley set her down and Lydia went running towards the kitchen. Yes, her daughter loved mint chocolate chip ice cream just as much as she did.

Nathan grabbed at Haley's hand, twirled her and then pulled him next to her. Haley automatically put her hands around his neck.

"Are you going to have two bowls this time?" Nathan asked with a crooked grin.

"How is it that you remember all those things?" Haley asked honestly amazed.

"It's not that hard and I'll tell you what; I'm going to remember this day too."

"Oh no." Haley buried her face in his shoulder. She didn't want to be engrained in Nathan's memory this way. She still had on her pink and white pajama pants and top, her hair was up in messy bun and she didn't have a stich of make up on.

Nathan put his finger under her chin and lifted toward him. "Oh yes. I'll remember how sexy you look in these pajamas."

Haley put her hand behind his head and tugged it down. Their lips met in fiery kiss that complimented the rapid beating of their hearts.

When they broke away, Haley slowly opened her eyes as she ran her bottom lip through her teeth. "Yup. And I'll remember that."

"Maybe tonight we can make some more memories?" Nathan asked with a hopeful grin.

"Memories? That's all you want to make? Hmmm," Haley said tauntingly as she broke free and started to strut towards the kitchen. "Come on, Daddy. Let's go see our _rain babies_."

* * *

With the lights back on, Haley looked Lydia over one last time as they stood by the front door. She had on rubber yellow boots that went up to her knee and a long yellow raincoat with the drawstrings tightened over her head, fully covering her rebandaged stitches. She looked fashionably ready to head out into the rain.

Nathan appeared behind her and patted Lydia on the head. "Quack, quack."

"Quack, Quack," Lydia replied as she tried to look up to see him with one finger lodged in her mouth.

Jamie came down the stairs and looked incredulously at his family. "You guys are really going out in the rain?"

"It's just drizzling. You should come," Haley said zipping up her rain jacket.

"Yeah. We're just getting our feet wet," Nathan joked as he put on light coat. "Come on. You know you want to. Show us you're really a Scott."

Haley discreetly pushed Lydia towards Jamie.

"Quack, quack," Lydia said looking over at her brother, her big eyes peering out from the hood that encased her face.

"I guess if Lydia wants me to," Jamie sighed. "Let me change." He ran back up the stairs and came down a minute later in a pair of wind pants and hooded jacket.

As they headed out the door, Nathan pulled back Jamie's hood. "The point is to get wet. Don't worry. You won't melt."

Nathan and Haley hung back, arm and arm for a few minutes as Jamie and Lydia chased each other around "quacking."

Eventually, Haley and Nathan got in the action. Then, Haley scooped up Lydia and twirled her around and sang "Singing in the Rain." Lydia did her best to join in, but mostly just watched her mother in awe and chimed in with the word "rain."

Meanwhile Nathan and Jamie fetched out a basketball and started taking shots.

Haley walked over to them and she and Lydia cheered them on for a few minutes. When she felt that Lydia was starting to get too wet for her liking, they bid the boys farewell and headed inside so she could give her bath and get her ready for bed.

Nathan and Jamie continued to play for a while, not really keeping score, but just having fun.

Jamie took aim and made his shot. "I guess it's not so bad to play in the rain. It teaches me how to focus and it's not so bad once you get used to being wet."

Nathan grabbed the ball and held it. "Tell you what; since you gave this a try, how about I do something for you? Let's get cleaned up and head over to the gym at the high school."

Jamie bounced up and down on his toes. "Really? This late?"

"Yup. I used to go there when I was your age."

Jamie's face fell. "What if the electricity is out?"

"Uh," Nathan said shifting in his feet, "we don't have to worry about that."

Nathan and Jamie were starting to head back to the house when black car pulled into the driveway.

Jamie looked up at his father. "Who is that?"

"I don't know." Nathan took a step in front of Jamie as if to shield him. When the car door opened he relaxed and stepped aside. "Hey. It's your Uncle—"

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie exclaimed as he ran towards his uncle. Once he reached him, he threw himself at him with huge smile across his face.

Lucas hugged Jamie. "Boy this is a difference from our last visit!"

Jamie let Lucas go and Nathan stepped in and shared a much briefer hug with his brother.

"What are you doing here, man?" Nathan asked. "I thought you weren't coming out till next week?"

"Peyton and Sawyer will be coming then," Lucas explained. "I decided to fly in a little early-so we could catch up."

"Hey!" Jamie said. "Dad and I were just going to go shoot some hoops at the high school. You want to come?"

Lucas shook his head and laughed. He looked back and forth between Nathan and Jamie. "Out in the rain? Late nights playing basketball? When did my nephew become exactly like his father? Do I need to move back here and take care of this?"

* * *

An hour later, Lucas and Nathan had picked up Chuck and taken them to the gym at the high school. As soon as they arrived, Jamie and Chuck took off to the gym. Nathan and Lucas took their time, heading into the school as Nathan caught Lucas up on the happenings of Tree Hill.

The mood changed when they stepped in the doors of Tree Hill High. They had walked through those doors and down those corridors many times since that horrible day, but this time something was different and both men felt it. Heaviness set in, like lead in their sneakers, and further slowed down their movements. With Dan's death, the blindfold they'd work so hard to affix over the years had been lifted and they were forced to face that evilness again.

When they got to that spot—the one where Dan shot Keith—their movements stopped. The heaviness settled in their hearts and a silence set in. It all came back to them. But was it evilness in that air? Or was it something different? As he looked at Lucas, Nathan could see his brother was struggling to define those feelings.

Lucas looked around at the blue lockers and the yellow bricks that lined the walls. The air was stale and musty. He swallowed hard and realized there was a lump in this throat. "It still looks the same. It even smells the same."

"But it's not. It's different this time." Nathan looked around and then back at his brother. "It's like I can feel his spirit here—and Keith's too."

Lucas shuffled around in his feet and slowly looked up at Nathan. "I don't feel sad, Nate. I just don't."

"I understand," Nathan said quietly.

"I know he saved your life-and it does count for something—it's just not enough for me to forgive him."

"You don't have to explain, Luke."

"It bothers me," Lucas said with half a shrug. "I've been thinking about Keith a lot and the truth is, I think Keith would have forgiven him-but me-_I just can't_."

"Dan was sorry—and not just in the end. I think he's been sorry for a long time."

Lucas shook his head, as if he wasn't sure he believed that. "When we were outside, I had this memory of you—running back into the building the day of shooting. I tried to stop you but you had this look in your eye and you said, 'It's Haley. Haley's in there.' and I just knew. I knew you were going in there no matter what and that you would do whatever it took to get her out of there alive. I imagine Dan was the same way with you and I'm grateful for that. I just still don't understand how he could have that loyalty to you and not to his own brother."

"I asked him about it, you know. At the end—he tried to explain—"

Lucas held his hand up for him to stop. "I can't. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to understand."

"Okay," Nathan said remorsefully. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"It's fine. I know you're having a tough time. So is Hales and Jamie—"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. That loyalty you talked about—you're right. I have that and in a way, I probably got that from Dan, for better or worse. I can't help worrying about my son, even right now."

"Is something wrong?" Lucas asked nervously.

"Jamie talked to Haley and he's still having a rough time. I think this is part of the reason for his obsession with basketball these days. He feels like he's got something to prove—to himself. I know what that's like."

"So do I. You want me to talk to him about it?"

"I need you to talk to him about something else. I need you to talk to him about Dan. I need you to put aside your own feelings. He needs to hear from you that it's okay that he loved him and that he misses him. I need you to do this for me, Luke, and for Jamie. Be honest with him about you feel, but still let him know you're okay with how he feels. Lie if you have to—and I don't care if that makes me like Dan or not. I'm just looking out for my son and protecting my family. The kid needs to know it's okay to feel what he's feeling."

Lucas gave him half of a smile. "I don't need to lie, little brother. Jamie had something with Dan neither one of us ever did. And as for Jamie, I get it, Nate. I'm a father too. I understand how you want to protect your kids, but I don't think you're like Dan, not in the bad ways. For me, I think that's the other part of it. Now that I'm a father, I don't understand how he could have ignored me all those years."

"I'll never understand that either," Nathan sighed heavily as he scratched the back of his neck. "Look, there's one more thing. Jamie's nervous about what to say around Sawyer and Lily, especially with Thanksgiving coming up. Honestly, I don't know how to handle that either. I'm going to leave that one up to you."

"Gee, thanks," Lucas said sarcastically. "I'll think about it. Thanks for heads up."

"Let me know what you decide. As long as we stick together on this, we'll be fine."

"Yeah. We just need to stick together; as brothers. That's the way it always should have been."

"That's how it is now. You and me—Sometimes with all the shit Dan's pulled, I feel like it's us against the world. I don't want my kids to have deal with stuff and someday-_they will_. Being the son of Dan Scott has always come with a price and you're the only person who can understand that. I don't want his grandkids to have to do deal with that. If I can make it easier for them, I will—and I think you can help."

"Maybe that's part of the reason I moved away—and I know it was like that for my mom. A fresh start sounded like a good idea, especially with Lily. For me, I'm still not sure if that was the right call." Lucas took a long pause thinking this over. "But I do know that our kids will have us as their fathers, so it will be different, no matter where we live. And we'll stick together as a family. It's why I came out here early. I wanted to try and start to sort through this before Peyton and Sawyer came."

"I figured. So, if you ever want to come back," Nathan said enticingly, "we could deal with all this chaos together."

Lucas took a step closer towards Nathan and looked up towards the ceiling. "You know this time, I guess _it is different_. More than anything, its Keith's spirit I feel here—and it feels good; like it's been freed. I just don't know if I'm ready to handle it."

Nathan walked up to his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. "What do you say for now, we go school these kids in our game?"

Lucas returned his cocky smile. "Now there's something I'm ready to handle, little brother."

The two brothers walked down the hall towards the gym both feeling a little lighter. It was always that when they were together. The guilt, despair, anger, along with love, life and laughter was always better shared. Through chaos and swirls and it was still them against the world.

* * *

AN: Obviously, I need to give some credit to Coldplay's "Us Against the World" for the last scene. Overall, I filled in some holes from the show, but nothing that conflicts with what we've seen. I hope it's okay I did take those liberties, because it was something I stressed over and gave a lot of thought about. Now, the torch is passed back to Marit, mAu0103. Watch her account for chapter 5!

As always, thanks for your support and let us know what you think. We've had some great suggestions from readers, so keep them coming. You keep us inspired, motivated and excited!


	3. Chapter 7

Never Let Me Go

**Disclaime**r: Characters, minor plot points, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwahn, and One Tree Hill writers.

**AN: **This is a **rotating feature** by mAu0103 and me (inspired by Diamond Gothic) - with the possibility of occasional guest authors (one so far), but we'll let you know when and who, when it comes to that. This will basically be "one story", which, as of now will be composed on two different accounts.

We will try and keep this from getting too confusing by constantly reminding you what order to read things/from what author. If any of you get/are confused or have questions, please don't hesitate to ask us! We're also available on twitter (mAu0103& FFKat0507). When we are done, we will probably compile everything together on both accounts for easy reading.

For now, in order to follow along, we suggest you get story alerts on stories on each of our accounts. Also refer back to the guide we are setting up for updated information. Here is what we have so far:

"Everything"—posted by Kat0507 This one shot deals with the Scott family readjusting to life after Nathan's kidnapping and Dan's death. It also helps explains Nathan/Jamie's absence in 9x12.

Chapter 1—posted by mAu0103 This one shot takes place in between 9x12 and 9x13. Nathan and Haley have some alone time and reconnect as a couple.

Chapter 2-posted by Kat0507. This chapter picks up after the Tric anniversary celebration in 9x13, but before the time jump at the end of the series finale. The Scotts host a family/friend cookout and admits the happy chaos, Lydia gets hurt.

Chapter 3-posted by mAu0103. This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 2. The Scotts spend some time at the hospital and return home with a healthy, but injured Lydia.

Chapter 4—posted by Kat0507. This chapter is a continuation from Chapter 3. The Scott family make the best of a rainy day and Lucas surprises the family with a visit.

Chapter 5— posted by mAu0103. This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 4. Nathan and Haley reflect on what happened after their adventure in the rain and Haley bonds with Lucas.

Chapter 6—**Guest Author Alert**! posted by **Two Bodies One Soul**. This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 5. With Nathan home from his business trip, he and Haley take a day to be alone so they can reconnect and have some fun with no distractions.

Chapter 7—posted by Kat0507 (this chapter!). This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 6. It picks up the next morning.

Chapter 8—will be posted by **mAu0103**.

* * *

AN: I need to give credit to **Dawn** and **Marit** for looking this piece over, bouncing ideas around and giving great suggestions/feedback. Thanks so much, ladies!

Chapter 7

With Haley snug in his arms, Nathan carefully twisted around to get a look at his alarm clock to see the time. It was nearly seven a.m. It was early for a Sunday morning, but he was fully aware of the sleeping patterns of his children. The older Jamie got, the more he liked to sleep in, but there was no way he'd sleep in late at Lucas'. Lydia, who had to be up by now, wouldn't stand for it. Knowing that Jamie had to be back by noon, Nathan figured he owed it to his brother to let him know he could bring the kids home as soon as he wanted to. Using one hand, he carefully typed a quick text to his brother.

"Is that Jamie?" Haley yawned. Although yesterday was supposed to be a Nathan/Haley day, she knew how Jamie constantly texted his father. It was a subconscious need their son had to stay connected to his father after the kidnapping. So a few times, throughout the day she caught Nathan checking his phone and she just knew he was texting with his son. Each time, it reminded her what a conscientious parent he was.

"Actually, Lydia," Nathan joked, as he kissed the side of his wife's head. "She's upset that you took her spot. She's thinking about rushing back here so she could steal it back."

"Ha, ha. Just let her try. This spot was mine long before it was hers."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow at her. "You slept like a rock."

Haley lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "I did. I guess I was," she looked up at him, "_exhausted_," she said accusatorily.

"Must have been the alcohol," Nathan said dismissively.

Haley tapped her fingers along her husband's bare chest. "Right. It had nothing to do with my husband keeping me busy all day."

"Or all night," Nathan grinned.

"I know what it was," Haley said, propping herself up on one elbow. "I was exhausted from beating my husband at basketball." She put a finger to her lips and cocked her head thoughtfully. "No, wait. Couldn't be that. That was _too easy_."

Nathan narrowed his eyes at her. "I let you win."

Haley threw her head back and laughed. "Whatever you tell yourself to get to sleep, Scott."

Nathan responded by lunging at her and pinning her down on the bed. He held her hands down by her side and smiled. "Don't test me, Haley James. One rematch and you'll lose all your bragging rights."

"Oh poor baby," Haley mocked him. "Did I hurt your ego?"

Nathan lifted up and put his hand on the right side of his lower back. "I think you hurt my back."

Haley winced knowing his back problems were nothing to joke about. "It hurts?"

As Haley reached her free hand up to touch him, Nathan made a quick move, pinning it back down. "Not from basketball," he smirked.

"You are so bad," Haley said, shaking her head at him, knowing he was referring to their after-dark festivities.

Nathan heard his cellphone vibrate and knew their time together was limited. He loosened his grip on her, let her hands go, and shifted his hands to the side of her head. She immediately fixed her hands on his lower back. "Seriously…How did you sleep when I was on my trip?" He asked her. "Was it that bad?"

Haley couldn't lie to him. "It wasn't just the thunderstorm that kept me up," she quietly admitted.

Nathan nodded. Even though she told him that on the phone when she called him, he knew better. "Did you get _any_ sleep?"

"Some. It did help having Lucas here." Lucas had been such a big help lately. It amazed her how easy it was for him to jump back into their lives. She already couldn't imagine him leaving.

Filled with frustration, Nathan turned around and fell back against his pillows. "Maybe it was too soon to go on that trip."

Haley rolled over and sat up so she was hovering over him. "No. We talked about it. It was time to try and get back to normal….and having Lucas here was the perfect time to test things out."

"I don't like leaving you and the kids," Nathan said looking past her and up at the ceiling.

"It's your job, Nathan, and I'm going to support you on that. It's the the same when I have to tour."

"But you haven't toured in a while. In fact, how many times have you put your career on hold for our family? And reopening the café—that was not a career move. That was for our family."

"It's not the same thing, Nathan. Music hasn't been an option. I haven't been inspired to write in a long time." In fact, she hadn't come up with anything original since her mother's death. Deep down, she was afraid of the emotions that would surface if she opened them up to music.

"Maybe it's time to focus on yourself for a bit, Hales." Nathan pushed up so he was sitting upright with her. "We promised to never let go of our dreams."

Haley could tell from the look of anguish in his eyes, something was seriously weighing in on him—more than her sleeping habits and recent career choices. "What's wrong, Nathan?"

Nathan sighed knowing his wife's uncanny ability to read him. "Do you remember, after basketball, when I said that I wanted to find something to be great at again?"

Haley nodded. "You mean when you gave up basketball so you could be a good father and husband?"

Nathan shook his head, not accepting her attempt to make him feel better. "It's not the same as you. I was injured. Then I went and followed a career path that took me away from my family for weeks at a time," he sighed. "I wanted," he said lifting his hands up, "_so badly_ to find something I was great at that I jumped at the first thing that came along. I think it was a mistake."

"It makes sense that you feel that way after what happened, but it doesn't mean that you should just quit. Don't let that be the reason."

"It's not," Nathan said firmly. "And that's why I wanted to go on that trip. I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it. That I wasn't running from my fear. I wasn't letting the fear win. What I realized is that this career—being a sports agent—is not something I'm great at."

"You signed clients that no one else could! Then you took over when Clay got sick—"

"Look at how that turned out. I went and got caught up in some mob scene because I didn't understand the culture over there. Wasn't the smartest move, Hales."

"You can't blame yourself, Nathan. How could anyone have known that would happen?"

"Clay did."

"Because he has experience. Think about how far you've come in such a short amount of time. You were thrown into this—"

"Which is why I was so desperate to prove myself. I let that cloud my judgment."

Haley opened her mouth to argue with him, but he held his hand up for her to stop. She closed her mouth and prepared to hear him out.

"I have the drive, Haley…but I don't have the _passion_. It's just not there."

"But you're good at it," Haley said out of the corner of her mouth.

Nathan smiled. One thing he learned over the years was that Haley was his biggest cheerleader. "Maybe, but I want to be _great_."

Haley could understand his point. Nathan Scott was never one to settle. "So you regret partnering with Clay?"

"No and honestly, it's not like I want out. I enjoy some of it. Maybe I could be a silent partner now that he's healthy again."

Haley leaned over and squeezed his forearm. "As long as you promise me that you are doing this for you and not because you want to me to sleep better at night."

"No, never." Nathan reached over for his cellphone. "It's because I _want_ to be the one to sleep closest to the door so I can protect you."

Haley reached over and slapped his arm. "You joke, but I know you sleep better when we are in the same bed."

"Of course I do," Nathan agreed as he read over his text from Lucas. "I've been conditioned for years to expect your elbow in my face which is why last night threw me off."

"Well tonight I think we should let Lydia sleep with us. Then we'll see who is laughing."

Nathan put his phone down and started to get out of bed. "There's nothing I'd like more than my two girls fighting over me."

Instinctually, Haley began to get out of bed as well. "What time are they due back? You remember Jamie's getting together with Chuck, right?"

"Yeah. Lucas said they'll be here in about a half hour." Nathan made a swift move to the door of their master bathroom. "He expects breakfast."

Haley rolled her eyes at him as she began to make the bed. Obviously, making breakfast was her responsibility. "What else? I have an afternoon shift at the café so you're going to have to find something to do to amuse the children—and Chuck."

"Well, Lucas wanted to go see Whitey. I could bring the kids. Lydia would love to see his horses."

"You cannot inflict Chuck on Whitey!"

"Why not?" Nathan shrugged. "The old man could probably knock some sense into him."

"At least call first. Don't just show up."

"Good point. He might just have a heart attack when he sees Luke."

"Oh, Nathan!" Haley said excitedly. "Invite him over for Thanksgiving. I bet he'd actually come this year since Karen and Lucas will be here."

"Sure," Nathan said quietly. He was always impressed by his wife's thoughtfulness.

"Great! Okay, let's get moving. You hit the shower, I'll get breakfast going. Maybe we can fit in some time on the Riverwalk before my shift."

"I have a better idea," Nathan said with a mischievous look in his eyes. "How about you join me in the shower and we break out the Cap'n Crunch for the brood?"

"We had our day of fun," Haley said as she leaned over and fluffed the pillows. "The least we can do is cook for Lucas."

Nathan sneaked up behind Haley as she diligently worked getting the bed set just right. "Speak for yourself. I think there is plenty of more fun to be had." He slapped her ass, causing her to squeal.

Haley turned around and pointed at him. "I know what that was."

Nathan laughed, knowing his wife knew him all too well. "Oh yeah." He slowly backed away towards the bathroom.

"Pregame ritual," Haley said with her hands on her hips. "You want a rematch!"

"Do I?" Nathan teased her. "Maybe I just want some company in the shower."

Haley purposely sauntered past him and over the bedroom door, fully aware he was eyeing her ass. "Take a cold one, Scott."

* * *

A few hours later, when they reached the Riverwalk, Nathan pushed Lydia in the stroller, while Jamie walked slightly ahead with Haley. It was really the only way it would work, since Lydia would not settle for not being fully included in the family. Now, at least her mother and brother were in her line of view. Nonetheless, she still kept fidgeting, between facing front and seeing them and checking on her dad at the helm.

Nathan, who was wearing his leather jacket with the yellow striped trim, leaned around the side of the stroller and made eye contact with his precious little bundle of joy. "What are you looking at, nosebag?"

"Daddy!" Lydia happily exclaimed. "Ahhh!" She squealed. She turned back around and pointed ahead. "Momma! Yames!"

Up ahead, Jamie, wearing a blue Nike sportsuit, was still drilling his mother about her vague details of the day with Nathan. He stopped walking, crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief. "I'm not buying it, Mom. There's _no way_ you beat Dad at basketball."

Haley, dressed casually in a red knitted sweater and jeans, stopped and but her hands on her hips. "James Lucas Scott, are you calling your mother a liar?"

They both looked up at Nathan to settle their dispute.

"Jamie," Nathan said sternly.

Jamie threw his hands in the air. "It's just not possible, Dad! This is a joke! Just like that time you told me you were going to sell me—"

"Tell him, Nathan," Haley said smugly.

"OUT!" Lydia shouted as she stood straight up in her stroller.

Nathan and Haley shared a look of disbelief as they realized Lydia had unbuckled the strap over her waist. She really was growing up fast.

Haley bent down and lifted Lydia out of the stroller. She held her in her arms and straightened out her outfit-a matching red fleece zip up, jeans and sneakers. This was just her daughter's play outfit, with a special second set of clothes to change into for the afternoon visit to Whitey's. Lydia was just as excited about wearing that outfit as she was about seeing Whitey's horses.

Nathan took the opportunity to step beside his son. He put his hand on Jamie's shoulders and let him a few steps away. "Remember how when you had Madison over and showed her how to play N.B.A. Live?"

"She sucked at that," Jamie said nodding. "She's good at baseball though."

"She has a strong arm," Nathan agreed. "But remember how it wasn't really any fun for the two of you to play that game when she wasn't any good."

Jamie's eyes light up. "I get it!" He said triumphantly as he made eye contact with Haley. "Dad let you win!"

"Sometimes you gotta take one for the team," Nathan said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Especially when you kinda like the girl—"

"Nathan!" Haley said furiously. "Don't lie! Tell him the truth!"

"Down!" Lydia said as she flung herself over Haley's arms.

"Boy you are feisty, today!" Haley set her daughter down and tried her best to hold her hand, but Lydia resisted. "Nathan," she pleaded for her husband's help.

"Come here, princess," Nathan said holding his hand out.

"No!" Lydia said jerking away.

"You are feisty," Nathan said shaking his head. "Just like your momma."

Jamie walked to his sister's side and held out his hand. "Come on Lydia," he said holding out his hand. "I'll take you for a walk. Let the grown ups have their boring fight."

Lydia happily took Jamie's hand and they strolled off ahead.

Nathan and Haley looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Did he think we were having a fight?" Haley asked.

"Did he say we were boring?" Nathan asked as he put his arm around Haley's shoulders.

"He has no idea," Haley laughed. They began walking, with Haley pushing the empty stroller.

"That his mom talked me into skinny dipping," Nathan smirked. "Nope. No idea."

Haley elbowed him hard. "You cut that out or else I let him know that you really didn't let me win."

"He'd never believe that," Nathan scoffed. "But if I told him that his mom dressed up in a cheerleader costume—"

"Nathan," Haley said, elbowing him just a little this time. "Stop embarrassing me."

Feeling a vibration from his cellphone, Nathan pulled it out of his pocket and read the news alert. "Wow. Raven's coach just resigned."

"What?" Haley asked with surprise. "Coach Mullens?"

"Yeah," Nathan confirmed as he scanned through the brief article. "It says here that he was caught spying on girls in the lockeroom."

"No!" Haley slightly stumbled and the stroller strayed a little to her right. She stopped and straightened out the wheel. "They caught him?"

"Amid accusations," Nathan said, reading aloud. He stuck the phone back in his pocket and shook his head in disgust. "But he resigned. What does that tell you? And right before the start of the season."

"What a pervert," Haley said. She thought back to her time as a staff member at Tree Hill High School and her eyes narrowed in fury. "He was my replacement, you know."

"Yeah?" Nathan asked. He'd been playing for the Charleston Chief's at the time and wasn't home much as Haley went through that ordeal—something he very much regretted. "So Rimkus hired him?"

"She was desperate. No one wanted that job after I left," Haley huffed. "But those kids, Nathan—they're the ones that suffer. Gets me so mad. Can you imagine what those girls are going through? Can you imagine Lydia-"

"_No_," Nathan voiced firmly looking up.. "Don't. My daughter-I would kill—_No_," he said in utter disgust. "It would never happen." Unable to think about that any further, Nathan went back to reading a few more accounts from other sources.

Haley looked up ahead at her children, who were now off in the distance. They started walking again, so they the kids wouldn't be too far away. "What happened to good teachers and coaches, like when we went to school?" Before Nathan could answer, Haley started laughing. "Ohhh, Whitey," she said pointing at him. With Nathan and Lucas due there soon, they were going to get an earful.

Nathan smiled and looked at his feet as he walked. "Yeah, the old man is gonna be all over this." He popped his head up and looked questionably at Haley. "If he knows. You think he knows?"

"Whitey knows all," Haley said assuredly. "Still."

Nathan nodded in agreement. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and purposely extended his elbow towards Haley.

Haley looped her hand through his arm and pushed the stroller with one hand. "Remember when your grandparents came to town for your Dad's birthday and you had me over for dinner? At first, I thought it was so weird that Whitey was there."

"That's what you thought was weird about that night?" Nathan laughed.

"At first," Haley remembered. The dramatics of the evening changed that, but initially she thought it was strange to have a teacher over for dinner. "But then I realized that Whitey wasn't just a teacher or a coach to your family."

"He was very close with my Uncle Keith," Nathan said. "They were good to each other."

"Whitey was good to so many people—Jake, Luke, and we would never be where we are without him," she sighed heavily. "It's so sad those boys don't have a strong role-model in a coach anymore," she began musing aloud. "Someone everyone in the community knows and looks up to. No one that people would ever worry about showing up at their house and trust to talk to their kid one-on-one."

"Yeah, too bad Lucas moved away," Nathan added.

"And too bad there's _no one_ here around like that," Haley said wryly.

Nathan looked at her to see if she was messing with him. Her wide-brown eyes told him otherwise. "Haley, Lucas was the coach, not me. I mean, sure, I helped out—"

"What you did with Quentin was more than help out." Haley's eyes tinged with sadness as she thought about that life cut short.

"I worked with him one-on-one. It was different. Coaching is different."

"Mmm-hmmm," Haley said unconvincingly.

"Haley," Nathan prodded her. "Just say it."

"You were just saying this morning—"

"I know!" Nathan quickly agreed. "Let's just see how this plays out. Who knows? It could give Lucas a reason to come back."

Haley shook her head. "Nathan, do you remember how Lucas left the team? When he lost his temper? In the end, I don't think coaching high schoolers agreed all that well with him. Maybe in the end, the kids need someone with a little more patience…"

Unable to accept his wife's compliment, Nathan rolled his eyes as he thought about his youth. Never in a million years did he ever think he would hear someone describing him as a patient man. _Hot-tempered, arrogant, selfish,_ sure. Then again, he'd come a long way since those days. It all changed the day he sat on the edge of Haley's bed after busting out of the hospital. That night he learned what it was like to have someone give him a second chance—and have someone believe in him. Haley was first to do that, but she wasn't the only one. Whitey had showed him the same love and respect. "Those kids need someone like Whitey."

"They do," Haley agreed. "You asked him if it was okay to bring the kids over, right?"

"Yeah," Nathan confirmed as he rubbed his chin. Whitey appeared to be oddly excited about it. "He said to bring them all by—the more the merrier."

Haley smiled and nodded. Whitey definitely knew about this coaching scandal—and was planning on talking to Lucas and Nathan about it. From her talks with Lucas, she knew that although he was interested in coming back to Tree Hill, but he wasn't interested in coaching. How far would Whitey be able to get with Nathan? It would be interesting to see!

No matter what happened, Haley would support Nathan. She just wanted to see that fire again in his eyes. Somehow, deep down inside, she knew _basketball_ was the _one thing_ that could do that for him. If not through coaching, then in some other way.

The two of them settled into a comfortable silence as they strolled down the pier. Nathan admired the view of the Cape Fear River as possibilities ran through his head. Haley kept her eyes on her children, thinking about how fast they were growing up. At this point, they were about the quarter of the way down on the wooden pier walkway, nearing the cobblestoned center of the downtown area, where they had plans to stop and take a break. Nathan was going to run off and get a tool to engrave Lydia's brick back at their house as well some treats to snack on.

Nathan looked curiously at Haley as she began humming aloud. He watched her, wondering if she even knew she was doing that. After a few seconds, she noticed him watching her and smiled.

"What? I guess I'm inspired."

Nathan reached over and squeezed the back of her neck. "Something new?"

Haley shrugged. She didn't want to get too excited about it, but she did have this tune stuck in her head. She needed to sit down in front of the piano to figure out if it was anything special.

Nathan could see the spark in Haley's eyes and he knew she was on to something. He kept quiet and took his turn watching the children as Haley stared off into space.

Up ahead, Jamie led his sister over towards a group of pigeons huddled around a piece of food. Once Lydia spotted them, she gleefully ran towards then, and laughed as they suddenly flew away.

Haley stopped in her tracks as she watched the exchange. Her eyes followed the birds as they circled in the air, flew over the water and dipped dangerously low towards the water. At the last second, the birds took a sharp turn upwards and flew out of sight. Flying….Reaching…Falling….Soaring… The ideas for lyrics were coming to her fast and furiously.

Nathan nudged her. "How fast do I need to get you to the piano?"

Haley shook her head as she came back down to earth. "I'm fine." She began walking again, but this time with a jubilant smile spread across her face. "It's just…It's happening again." She stopped and faced Nathan. "It's you, you know. You're inspiring me."

Nathan scoffed. "You mean because this morning I admitted what a failure I was?"

"You know how I feel, Nathan. I think it's brave that you're reinventing yourself."

Nathan stuffed his hands back in his pocket and began walking again. "I think I've heard that speech before." He looked around the Riverwalk. "In fact, I probably heard it here."

Haley nodded in agreement. Over the years they had shared many walks there. "Well, I'll keep telling you, as long as you need to get it through that thick skull of yours."

"Oh, okay," Nathan said sarcastically.

"You know," Haley said thoughtfully, "I'm fine with just performing at the café, and for my husband," she said winking at Nathan. "I don't need to do a record or tour."

Nathan shook his head in disbelief. "Now you're lying. I've seen that look in your eyes when you're onstage. You get a rush in front of a crowd. You need to feel that again. You deserve to."

Haley gave him a sideways smirk. "Right back at ya, babe."

Nathan and Haley stopped as Lydia came barreling towards them with Jamie hot on her heels.

Lydia stopped in front of her parents and threw up her hands. "Mommy! Daddy! Horsie, now! Boots now!"

Jamie breathlessly appeared behind Lydia. He hunched over and put his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Boy, it's tough raising kids these days."

Nathan and Haley laughed and shook their heads at him.

"It must be tough getting outrun by a toddler," Nathan said.

Jamie shot back up. "Oh yeah? Lydia see if you can catch me!" He took off ahead, casually looking back over his shoulder.

Lydia took the bait and ran off after him. "Wait for me!"

This time Nathan took the stroller and Haley cuddled up to his side as they walked towards the kids. Haley immediately began humming again.

"Seriously, Hales, why don't you head into the studio tonight? I'm sure Keller will be around."

Haley raised her eyebrow at him as she mulled it over. They both knew that Chris did know how to push her buttons when it came to music. "I'll think about it."

Nathan knew that was all he was going to get from her at the moment. As they caught up with their kids, a nagging thought crossed his mind. It was something that tool—Chris Keller—had told him a long time ago. Nathan could hear that cocky son of a bitch like it was yesterday. Chris had made it clear that _Nathan's relationship with Haley_ and _Haley's relationship with music_ was "the same thing."

Haley's music was such a big part of her. Had she neglected it because he wasn't around to push her? To, as she said, inspire her? Because she was too busy taking care of their children? Starting a new business to give their children a sense of security? At the same time his job threatened that very security?

It solidified Nathan's resolve to stop hitting the road for his work. It was time for Haley to get back her passion.

"Nathan," Haley said as she tugged on his arm sleeve. "Are you going to the store to get the brick engraving tool?"

"Yeah, right," Nathan said as he realized it was time to part ways for a short while.

"Oh look!" Haley said pointing over at Jamie and Lydia. They had wandered over to a small set of single wooden benches and table. "They found our spot," she gushed.

"Why don't you catch them up on how I tricked you into falling in love me at that table?" Nathan began to back away, heading towards the downtown area.

"The joke was on you, Nathan," Haley said with a sly smile. She held up her wrist, flashing the colorful Cracker Jack's bracelet at him.

Nathan laughed as he headed towards the store. She was right. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand in no time. "It's a good thing I have a great sense of humor to go along with my good looks," he called out over his shoulder.

Haley stood there and watched him walk away. She waited until he disappeared around the corner before she went over to that table. By now, Jamie was sitting down with Lydia in his lap. They were watching a boat on the water.

Water…Sailing….Peace….Serenity. The ideas kept on coming. She couldn't stop them if she tried.

* * *

As soon as they pulled off the street and onto the long dirt road, Nathan gave the boys his final lecture about behaving while they were at Whitey's. They seemed to be receptive, especially with promises of ice cream later, but the energy level in the car was still very high. Lydia knew was impatiently babbling about seeing the "horsies" and kicking her hot pink cowgirl boots in the air. The boys were also excited to see the legendary coach the Tree Hill gymnasium was named after. Sure he had also coached the Ravens to the State Championship, but after being around Nathan, Lucas and Skills, that didn't impress the boys much anymore. But Whitey was like a celebrity to them. Ever since the boys began practicing at the Tree Hill gym, they started peppering Nathan with questions about his former coach. In particular, Jamie seemed fixed the one retired jersey that hung up in the gym that he was unfamiliar with. As Nathan explained about the history of jersey number one, Chuck listened intently.

Nathan told them the story about when the team wasn't living up to Whitey's standards to be playing in a gym with his name on it. He told them how the team was forced to work together and fix up that old gym from Whitey's days and how they had to earn their way back to the Durham Gymnasium. The boys were impressed with image of the hard-nosed coach with legendary status. So Nathan wasn't surprised when the boys turned down an offer from Chase to go to the arcade for their playdate. With nothing else to do, Chase decided to tag along. He was sitting next to Lydia and the boys were in seats in the far back.

Nathan looked over to his brother, who was seated in the passenger side seat. "You still think bringing three kids was a good idea?"

Lucas looked over his shoulder. "Three would be fine if one weren't Chuck. He's got to count for more than one."

"Hey!" Chuck protested. "I heard that!"

"I got one word for you," Nathan said loudly. "Tractor."

Chuck scowled at Nathan and quieted down.

Lucas looked at Nathan to explain, but Nathan waved him off. Chuck was a huge pain the ass, especially that time they went camping, but he also knew the kid had some home problems. Through his relationship with Chase, his behavior had improved, but Nathan also knew he still needed to be kept in line, even with Chase present. Nathan wasn't afraid to be the one to make sure it would happen. There was no way Chuck was going to pull a "chuck" on Whitey.

As they pulled up to the house, Whitey got up from his chair on the front porch. He was wearing a cowboy hat and boots, with a flannel shirt and jeans. He waved at them and walked down the stairs and towards the car.

"When is the last time you saw him?" Lucas asked.

"Dan's funeral. You?"

"Right before Peyton and I took off," Lucas sighed.

Nathan figured it was best to give his brother some alone time to catch up with their former coach. That shouldn't be hard since Lydia was a bundle of energy that needed to constantly be looked after.

Whitey remained stone-faced as Lucas approached him. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. You don't call. You don't write…"

"Come here and give me a hug, old man," Lucas said opening up his arms.

After hugs were exchanged, Whitey took a moment to gush over Lydia, who had changed into her special outfit. In addition to the boots, she wore pink corduroy pants, a white turtleneck and pink cardigan sweater. Haley had styled her hair as well with a ponytail off the side of her head, with her light blond hair sprayed straight up. There was a jacket for her in the car, but so far the warm weather had held up, and the sun was still shining brightly over the rustic grounds of the ranch.

Following his retirement from coaching, which came after Nathan transferred to the University of Maryland, Whitey moved in his old family vacation home, located on the outskirts of Tree Hill. It had been a favorite respite of his wife, Camilla, used in the summer and long weekends, but in years following her death, he found it hard to stay there alone. He finally faced those fears after his retirement and it was apparent to anyone that visited him that he found great peace and serenity in filling the stables with horses.

As promised, the boys were on their best behavior as they shook hands with Whitey. Their eyes gleamed with awe. The address him as "sir" and stood fully upright and alert as they spoke to him. Whitey, who knew of Jamie's revived interest in basketball from chats at Dan's funeral services, started to talk basketball with him.

Nathan managed a squirming Lydia in his arms but noticed a certain smirk forming on his son's face. Jamie soaked in all the attention from Whitey and was starting to show off in front of Chuck. He let it go on for a minute or two, but when Nathan sensed the Scott ego, an unfortunate genetic trademark passed on from his side of the family, coming out in full force, he put an end to it. It just required one simple move. Jamie was bouncing up and down on his toes, with his chest puffed out, as he bragged about a recent pickup game at the River Court where he won and Chuck team's lost. Nathan put his hand on Jamie's shoulder and pushed him down flat on his feet. Jamie stopped moving—and talking—and looked up with serious eyes at his father. He quickly wrapped up his story.

"—And we did best two out of three, but we took the next game too," Jamie finished.

"With one guy short?" Lucas asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yup." Jamie avoided his father's gaze and looked towards the edge of the stables, off to the far right. "Do you still have Blackie? Lydia's really excited to see him."

Whitey stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. "Sure do. That stallion has been up to all sorts of mischief, let me tell you," he huffed.

Everyone exchanged curious glances, unsure what that could mean.

Lydia started kicking Nathan and he was forced to put her down. "Any other horses? I don't think this one can wait any longer."

"What about Bella?" Jamie asked. "Do you still have her?"

Whitey took his hands out of his pocket, threw them up, shook his head and muttered under his breath.

Again, curious exchanges went around, but this time they were quickly interrupted by a car pulling up alongside the Range Rover.

Whitey started to head over to greet the woman getting out of the car. "I'm afraid Bella is in isolation….but here's the vet now. Maybe she'll have some good news."

Nathan shrugged at the puzzled expressions on Chase and Lucas' faces. He couldn't imagine Whitey inviting them over under such circumstances—and with such enthusiasm.

"Wait a minute," Lucas said looking at the woman. "I know her."

"Yeah," Chase agreed. "She graduated with us."

Nathan looked over the woman. She had long, straight brown hair that hung down past her shoulders. Bangs swept across her forehead, carefully not shielding her wide green eyes. She was dressed casually in a long pale blue knitted sweater, knotted at her waist, along with jeans and work boots. She had a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a large leather medical bag in her left hand. "I don't recognize her at all," he admitted. "Are you sure? Our year?"

"Yeah," Chase said confidently. "I can't remember her name though. She's changed a lot."

Lucas' face lit up in excitement. He took a few steps forward and wrapped the woman an enormous bear hug. "Glenda!"

"Glenda?" Nathan asked, still not recognizing her.

"Glenda," Chase nodded. "Farrell—that's it."

Nathan sighed in frustration. Chase hadn't even spent a year at Tree Hill High and he knew her. It left it slightly embarrassed. He was sure Haley would know her. She was so much better at those kinds of things.

Lucas pulled back and beamed at Glenda. "You look great!"

Glenda's cheeks turned red and she brushed some hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

"You know," Lucas said looking over his shoulder at Jamie and Chuck, "Glenda is one of my ex-girlfriends."

Glenda gave Lucas a bemused look and laughed. "You wish."

"It's true!" Lucas insisted. "We had something special going there."

Nathan knew this was some kind of private joke between the two of them and he wondered exactly what it meant. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chuck whispering in Jamie's ear and gave the boy a stern look. Chuck instinctively barricaded his arms across his stomach in a defensive move, then when he realized Nathan wasn't going to "Nathan" him, he sheepishly straightened back up.

"I didn't know you were back in town," Glenda said to Lucas. She set down her bag and looked at Lydia, who was hugging the back of Nathan's leg as she checked out the stranger. "That's not Sawyer, is it?"

"No. That's my niece, Lydia. Peyton and Sawyer are in the air as we speak. And you remember my brother, Nathan….and Chase Adams?"

Chase gave Glenda a warm hug, while Nathan exchanged an awkward handshake with the girl he swore he was seeing for the first time.

"So you're a vet now?" Chase asked.

Glenda nodded. "I work out of Tree Hill Veterinary hospital but I specialize in equine—"

"That's for horses," Jamie said to Chuck.

Chuck crossed his arms. "I knew that."

"Are they sick?" Jamie asked nervously.

"You didn't tell them?" Glenda asked Whitey.

A slow smile spread across Whitey's face. "Nope. I thought I'd leave that to the medical expert."

"Well, let's show them," Glenda smiled.

Lydia carefully stepped out from her father's leg, put her finger in her mouth and looked up at her dad, with her large green-blue eyes. "Horsie?"

Nathan tried to pick her up, but she resisted. "Okay, Miss Independent, let's go see the horsie. You stay with me."

"Horsie!" Lydia squealed. Compared to earlier, she was slowed down by her cowboots, so she and Nathan trailed behind as everyone headed off to the stables.

Once they entered the stables, and walked along a dirt path covered with strands of hay, Nathan saw that only one of the four stalls had a horse in it. He recognized the large black stallion immediately in the corner stall. "That's Blackie," he pointed. "Whitey's first horse."

Whitey had initially bought Blackie and then Bella with the intention of breeding them. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, much like Whitey's union with Camilla. They couple remained childless, and the stallion and the mare carried on that tradition. So from time to time, Whitey filled his extra stalls with rescue horses. Most of them were old race horses that were retired from duty and neglected. Always a fan of comebacks, Whitey nurtured them back to health and found them good homes. It appeared as though there were no rescues at the moment, perhaps because of whatever was going on with Bella.

Lydia had been out to the ranch before, but she was too young to remember. The first time she'd seen Blackie, she was mesmerized by him. This time, she had a very different reaction. She stopped dead in her tracks and held her arms up to her father. "Daddy," she whined.

Nathan chuckled as he picked her up. "It's just Blackie. He's a good horsie."

Up head, as the crew stopped in front of Blackie, Whitey grabbed some sugar cubes from a nearby bucket and the horse let out a wild roar and jerked his body upright.

Nathan stopped walking as Lydia clung tightly onto him.

"Oh, don't pay attention to that big troublemaker," Whitey grunted as he moved everyone along. "He's just upset he hasn't been the center of attention lately."

The group exited the other side of the stable and headed towards the large red bard. Nathan gingerly made his way towards Blackie.

With each step, Lydia seemed torn between looking at the horse and looking way. "Uh…Uh," she wined.

Nathan gently rubbed his daughter's back. "It's okay, princess. Daddy's here. Can you say 'Blackie'?"

"No!" Lydia scowled.

"Maybe later."

Just as they were passing Blackie, who was now quiet and still, Lydia had a change of heart. "Daddy, no!"

Nathan stopped and looked at Lydia. She had her face buried in his shoulder, but was peeking out to look at the horse. He knew her behavior was typical for a toddler. She really didn't know what she wanted—and was scared and amazed at the same time. It was his job to give her reassurance and direction. "Want to give him a treat?"

"You do," Lydia said popping her head up.

"Okay, I'll do it. You watch." Nathan leaned down and grabbed a sugar cube from the bucket. Blackie shuffled around in excitement.

Lydia threw herself back over Nathan's shoulder, but then looked back over just in time to see the horse gobble up the cube from her father's hand. "Daddy! Daddy!" She squealed in excitement. "I do. I do."

Without Whitey around, Nathan was anxious to get moving. "Next time. Let's go see Bella. Can you say 'Bella'?"

"Bella," Lydia said quietly.

Nathan and Lydia exited the stables and headed to the barn. The barn was connected to a large horse corral which had a gate on one end that opened up into a riding path in the woods. Although Nathan had never been out riding with Whitey there, Skills had, creating a hilarious story told repeatedly time each Whitey receive a visit from a former Raven. The story ended with Skills walking Bella back to the corral after his inability to stay on the mare. He blamed it on the horse, but Whitey was always sure to point out that Bella was the gentlest, most patient riding horse he'd ever seen. Animals always picked up the anxiety and nerves of humans. In Whitey's eyes, the problem was not the horse, but the ineptitude of the rider, who would not calm down enough to let the horse do her work.

Nathan had been inside the barn many times over the years. There was a small track inside used to gear up and warm the horses up. It was there Jamie, as a youngster, had rode one of the smaller rescue horses to his childish delight. They entered through the wide open barn doors and saw the group gathered at the back, near a pen.

Jamie turned sideways and ushered them over with his hand. "Dad! Come see!"

"Yames!" Lydia called out.

"Yeah, Lydia, it's okay," Jamie called back. "You have to see this!"

Nathan felt a surge of excitement in the air and scurried over. He had no idea what was going on, since Bella, was in his view and the chestnut beauty looked fine. The group parted ways and Nathan and Lydia made their way to front of the pen.

Next to Bella, stood a baby horse, which was being examined by Glenda.

Lydia's eyes widened and she squeezed her legs around her father's waist and moved up and down in pure excitement. "Pony! Pony! Daddy, pony!"

It never failed to amaze Nathan and the ability of small children to pick up on proper vocabulary. He had no idea when she even heard the word "pony", never mind learning the difference between a horse and pony. He figured his little girl was going to turn out to be gifted, just like Jamie. Thank God for Haley's genes.

"That's right," Nathan smiled. "It's a pony."

"Dad," Jamie said with a roll of his eyes, "Glenda said it a foal, not a pony."

Nathan rolled his eyes back at his son. Jamie had a penchant for correcting people when he could, which always reminded Nathan of when Haley started tutoring him. At times it was endearing and other times annoying. "I'm with Lydia. It looks like a pony."

"No, Dad. It actually a suckling—"

"What your mouth," Nathan teased his son.

"But Glenda is trying to get it to be a _weanling_," Chuck snickered.

"What's so funny about that?" Jamie asked, unimpressed.

Glenda stood up. "She's doing great….How about we take her out for a little walk? Then she can run around outside and get some fresh air."

"She can do that?" Jamie asked.

"She was able to walk a few hours after she was born," Whitey said proudly.

Nathan patted the back of his son's head. "You don't know that J-Luke? I thought you knew everything about aquatics."

Jamie gave his father a dramatic eye roll.

Everyone stepped aside and watched as Whitey put a bridle on Bella. As he worked, he explained a little to his audience. "So Bella caught us by surprise when we found out she was expecting. I'd given up hope a long time ago of that. It was just a reminder that if you want to make God, laugh, tell him your plans. Anyway, I was relieved because Bella had given me quite a scare. I thought she'd fallen ill. Luckily, Dr. Farrell was able to figure it all out."

"Why is Bella here in the barn?" Chuck asked.

"Mares like their privacy when tending to their foals," Glenda explained. "But pretty soon, Cinnamon will be weaned off her mother and they'll all be back in the stable."

"Cinnamon," Lucas nodded. "I like that."

It certain did fit the reddish hue of foal, who was sticking right by her mother's side.

"Do you need one of those for Cinnamon?" Jamie asked as Whitey began to lead Bella by the rein.

"Nope. She's not gonna leave her momma's side," Whitey said. Just as he predicted, Cinnamon followed her mother's lead, as they headed out to the track.

"Hey, Lydia," Nathan prodded his daughter. "What's the pony's name?"

Lydia put her finger in her mouth and rested her head on her father's shoulder.

"Is it Cinnamon?" Lucas asked, making eye contact with his niece.

"Cmannim," Lydia mumbled.

Everyone snickered and Lydia popped her head back up in response to the sudden attention.

"What's her name?" Nathan asked.

"Cmannim," Lydia said louder and with a smile on her face. Everyone laughed again and Lydia pointed towards the foal. "C-MAN-NIM!" This time she forced out a laugh along with her audience.

"You are going to be a superstar, just like your momma," Lucas said.

"Ha, ha!" Lydia exclaimed. Her attention suddenly to the horses as Bella and Cinnamon broke into a gallop around the track. "Cmannim running!"

Although the dam and foal were quite a sight, Nathan watched his former coach and noticed the pride that beamed through his body. It was the same pride he'd seen when Whitey was coaching. He felt happy that Whitey had found another passion, especially so late in life. It was an inspiration to keep searching for that something that would make him feel great again.

* * *

Just as Nathan hoped, Lucas and Whitey snuck off to the ranch to catch up. Nathan and Chase stayed outside with kids and Glenda. Glenda continued to answer their questions and taught them a few trick on how to deal with horses. Lydia got to pat "Cmannim" but was weary of Bella.

When Glenda let Bella and Cinnamon out into the corral to run around freely, Nathan decided to head in to see Whitey. He took Lydia with him, while Chase and Chuck went in the stable to see Blackie. Jamie stayed with Glenda, soaking in as much knowledge as he could.

Nathan found Whitey and Lucas on the porch. Lucas was sitting on the double bench and Whitey in a wooden rocking chair. Per usual, Whitey seemed all worked up when he was speaking—or yelling was more like it—while Lucas was very laidback and cool.

"Come on up," Lucas said to Nathan and Lydia.

Nathan held Lydia's right hand and she used the railings with her left as she took the few steps up onto the porch.

"We were just talking about Julian's show," Lucas explained with a slight chuckled. Lydia immediately scurried over to her uncle and he lifted her up and put her on the empty seat beside him.

"Can you believe they wanted me to play myself!" Whitey exclaimed loudly. When he noticed Lydia, sitting up on her knees and looking at him with concern, he lowered his voice. "I shouldn't be in that thing at all. What place do I have in some silly teenage soap opera?"

Nathan, who was standing on the perch of the stairs, shook his head in disagreement. "You had a pretty big place in all our lives. I can't image there are many coaches that would come out of retirement just to help one of their athletes make a comeback."

"That's the kind of thing I was talking about," Lucas said smugly.

Whitey's face turned beet red, he narrowed his eyes and pointed at Nathan. "I did that for your wife, not for you!"

Lucas and Nathan shared a smile. Meanwhile, Lydia turned herself around and scooted off the bench. In her boots, she waddled over to Whitey and put her arms up for him to pick her up. "Up," she said sweetly.

Whitey's tough exterior melted as he picked up the little girl and bounced her on his knee.

Nathan walked over and took the free seat next to Lucas. The two brother's talked for a few minutes about how much their daughters were like mini-versions of their mothers, but also had some definitive Scott characteristics. They also marveled at how fast Lydia calmed Whitey down. Nathan swore she'd done it intentionally, since she seemed to be very emotionally intuitive—another thing he figured she got from Haley.

Lucas lowered his voice and leaned in towards his brother. "I'm trying to get him to write a memoir."

Nathan looked over at Whitey. The old man was pointing at a butterfly, explaining how it used to be a caterpillar. He couldn't imagine Whitey taking too kindly to the idea, especially after his earlier outburst. "I take it that didn't go too well."

"Yes and no," Lucas said vaguely. "He said that he's actually been writing some things down, but he didn't think they were anything important….and there was no way he was going to let some 'highfaluting, money-making hotshot writer' get their hands on it. But…"

Nathan laughed seeing exactly where this was heading. Whitey could be a shrewd man at times, using every angle he could to do what he believed was the right thing. In this case, he figured it was time Lucas come back home.

"If I moved back here," Lucas continued, "_maybe_ he'd be willing to let me take a look at it."

"You think that's even true? That he's been writing?" Nathan whispered.

"Who knows," Lucas said.

Whitey stood up, and set Lydia down and patted her head. "You tell your momma that I said you need a cowgirl hat to match those boots!" He took the hat off his head and placed it down on hers. "This will have to do for now."

The hat fell down past Lydia's eyes to her nose. She giggled and started turning around in circles. Just when Nathan was about to stop her, she took the hat off and smiled brightly as she looked around. The hat slipped out of her hands as she wobbled around from the dizziness.

"You're such a goof," Nathan said with amusement.

"She's got your dance moves," Lucas chuckled.

Whitey leaned down to pick up the hat and his hand flew to his lower back.

Both Nathan and Lucas stood up.

"You okay, Coach?" Nathan asked as he moved Lydia out of the way.

"Fine, fine," Whitey said as he stood up and put his hat back on his head. "I need to get drink. Why don't you boys come in? Lucas, just don't think you can take out a tape recorder and start selling my secrets to those media outlets. Everyone wants a piece of me these days! You'd think I'm some kind of celebrity!"

* * *

Once inside, Lydia took off her boots. After running around for a bit, she settled down on the floor playing with some horse trinkets as makeshift toys, while the guys sipped on a glass of water.

Nathan waited patiently until the conversation drifted towards the current Ravens debacle. It was apparent that Lucas and Whitey had already broached the subject, but wanted to revisit it with Nathan.

"So when did you hear about it?" Nathan asked Whitey.

"I've been getting phone calls for a month now! Before it was twatted and texted about, all over that internet! Like they had a chance in hell getting me to come back and coach." Whitey scoffed.

"Since when do you know about the internet, Coach?" Lucas asked, teasingly.

Whitey settled back in his chair and reached for his glass of water. "I got a laptop, it even has Wi-Fi," he said proudly. He pointed towards a desk in the far corner of the room.

Lucas stared at that laptop for a minute before he shot up and walked over to the desk. He looked the laptop over. "Wow. It also has a webcam. We could Skype."

"Don't talk to me about that nonsense! I believe in seeing people face-to-face. Making house calls to discuss important matters—Your Uncle Keith knew the value of those things."

Lucas turned around as if unaffected. "You're sure you don't want me to take out a tape recorder?"

"Actually, we don't have those anymore," Nathan said pulling out his phone. "Our phones do that now."

"What is this? The Scott Comedy Hour? I liked it better when you boys didn't like each other. So you know what I told those no-good administrators at the high school?" Whitey straightened up and pursed his lips in hard line.

Nathan knew Whitey was the verge of another tangent and looked to his brother for support, but Lucas had turned his attention back to the laptop. Nathan knew his brother was fighting every urge not to turn the thing on and find out what was on it.

"I told them," Whitey yelled in the direction of Nathan, "they need some _new young blood_ in there." Lydia moved towards Whitey's feet and he began speaking at a normal volume again,  
"and I'd already come out of retirement once and once was enough. Ah-hem," he coughed.

Nathan swallowed hard as both Lucas and Whitey stared him down, waiting for a response. "Well, Skills might be interested—"

"Skills was a good _assistant coach_," Whitey interrupted. "What those boys needs is a _head coach_—a real leader. Someone who had experience being a team captain. Someone who doesn't have a job on the side and can give the team their full attention."

Nathan poured over those words. Was Whitey referring to all the side jobs Skills had—or was he ruling out Lucas because of his writing? Once again, both men waited for him to respond. Nathan cleared his throat. "Uh, well—" At the last second he chickened out directly asking about the veiled reference. "—Lucas, think you might—"

"No," Lucas answered quickly. "We had someone else in mind."

Nathan looked back and forth between the two men. Whitey had a twinkle in his eye and smug expression, while Lucas smirked. "Me? I can't—"

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"A million reasons."

"Let's hear 'em," Whitey said, as he crossed his arms.

Nathan was taken aback. He said the first and most important reason that came to mind. "I would never want to coach my son in basketball. Now that Jamie—"

"That's years away. No one is asking you to make a lifetime commitment and trust me, despite what they tell you," Whitey grumbled, "you can step away anytime, No need to get to twenty years or five hundred games, especially when you have a family to spend your time with."

"And if you liked it," Lucas jumped in, "it could be a stepping stone to coaching college—or maybe even the big leagues."

"I always saw Nathan as an offensive coach," Whitey added.

Nathan moved onto his next point. "I have a job…and you just said no side jobs—"

"Don't talk to me about that _thing_ you're doing with Clay Evans," Whitey huffed. "It never made sense to me why you did that. You quit basketball so you could be with your family, then you go gallivanting all over Europe-"

"I quit basketball because of the risks to my back—"

Lucas turned to Whitey. "Nate was helping out a friend-that's what he does. Clay needed a partner and he was there. Then when Clay got sick, Nathan had to step in more than he intended."

Nathan shook his head, unable to let himself look so selfless. "Clay helped me out, too. I was looking for a new career—"

"And is that it?" Whitey challenged him. "You comfortable sitting on the sidelines in the sports world but not really inside of it?"

"I'm helping people achieve their dreams," Nathan countered.

"What about _your dreams_, son?" Whitey shot back. "Is it your dream to spend the rest of your life doing a job that you don't truly love?"

Nathan couldn't get over how well Whitey knew him. It was as if he heard his conversations with Haley. "To be honest," he held his hands up for emphasis, "I'm still trying to figure things out…and I'm not sure coaching is the answer…especially after what happened with Q."

"That—that was horrible," Whitey stammered, "but that is also why those boys need someone like you. You helped Q get back in the game and someone once told me that high school games matter to kids who are just trying to figure themselves out," Whitey said looking in dead in the eye. "So maybe in the process of helping kids do that, you could figure yourself out."

The works sunk in as Nathan remembered that day he found his coach packing up his office. Those words were his and used to convince Whitey to stay.

"It's time, Nathan. You're ready to do it on your own," Whitey said, continuing to echo that conversation.

Nathan looked down at his daughter and started to wring his hands. This conversation had left him more confused than ever.

"It's something to think about," Lucas said gently, breaking the silence.

"Expect your phone to be ringing," Whitey warned him. "Or tweeting or chirping or whatever the hell you kids call it these days."

Nathan and Lucas chuckled.

"Thanks for the heads up," Nathan said appreciatively. "I'll have to talk about it with the wife."

Lucas and Whitey shared a smile that made Nathan wonder if Haley had tipped them off.

* * *

Nathan was halfway down the dirt road when slammed on the brakes. He bit his tongue to keep from cursing.

"What?" Lucas asked from the passenger seat.

Nathan turned the car around and headed back in the direction of the ranch. "I forgot to ask Whitey about Thanksgiving. Haley is going to kill me."

"No, she's not because we're going back," Chase pointed out with a hint of irritation.

As soon as the ranch came into view, Nathan hit the gas pedal. Whitey was spread out on the stairs, hunched over on his side, his hat lying on the ground. His first thought was that Whitey had taken a fall, but with each passing second, his fears grew worse. "Call 9-1-1," he shouted.

Nathan threw the car into park and Lucas leapt out. Chase was already on his cellphone calling 9-1-1. "Stay in the car with the kids," Nathan instructed him. Chase gave him a curt nod and Nathan got out of the car.

By the time Nathan got over to them, Lucas had rolled Whitey flat on his back. His eyes were open, but he was pale and clearly in pain.

"He's conscious," Lucas said breathlessly. "But he's clutching his heart."

"His pills," Nathan said remembering the tablets Whitey always carried on him. He ran into the house, found the bottle on Whitey's nightstand, and hurried back out. Lucas moved aside and Nathan bent down, took out a pill and tried to place it in Whitey's mouth.

Whitey opened up his mouth, accepted the pill on his tongue, but didn't swallow. Instead, he pointed up at the sky. Both Lucas and Nathan turned around to see what he was pointing at and they were blinded by the sun. They turned back around just in time to see Whitey spit the pill out. He started whispering, but they couldn't make out what he was saying.

Nathan put his ear right next to Whitey's mouth.

It was the softest word Nathan had ever heard him speak, but it was clear as day.

"Camilla."

Whitey's eyes closed and his body went limp. His lips curled up into a contented smile.

Whitey was gone—but he was at peace and finally reunited with his beloved Camilla.

* * *

The next few days, including Thanksgiving, passed in a blur. With no living blood relatives to speak of since the passing of Whitey's brother a few years ago, the Scott family made the arrangements. Whitey had left specific instructions and they carried them out just like he wanted. He stated clearly that he didn't want a "showy ordeal", his exact words, but wanted something simple, just like the arrangements for Camilla. There was to be a private wake, with only those on his list allowed to attend, but a funeral open to the public. He was to be buried beside his late wife in the Tree Hill cemetery. Following his burial, his will, which was also very specific about his intentions, was to be read at the ranch.

Many tears were shed at the wake, including those from people who were already in town for Thanksgiving like Karen, Andy, Lily, Deb, Peyton and Sawyer and those who came in specially for the occasion like Jake, his parents and Jenny and some former Raven's players. There was a full showing from the State Championship team, who all wore Raven's ties in a show of team unity.

Every pew in the church was filled for the funeral and the aisles on the side where lined with people standing. There were many people who offered to give the eulogy, but once again, Whitey had his demands. Haley, after showing off her "great oratory skills" at the Burning Boat Festival, once again Whitey's exact words, was chosen to do the honors.

She fretted over this, wrote, rewrote and rewrote again. In between, music poured out of her as if it had been building up in her for years, just waiting to burst out. As she suspected, it was not all upbeat, inspirational pieces. Instead, most were dark as she tapped into the death of her mother, Nathan's kidnapping and now Whitey's death. After writing that final song—the one about Whitey—the final version of the eulogy came to her. It was short and sweet, but she figured Whitey would like it that way.

Haley sat in the front pew, in between Nathan and Jamie and held their hands as much as she could during the service. When the time came, they each gave her tight squeeze just before she stood up. Nathan stood up with her, smiled at her, steeling confidence into her with his sparkling blue eyes. Haley kissed his cheek and when turned away, much to her surprise Jamie reached up to give her a warm hug, filling her with love. Her boys really did know how to come through to her when she needed him.

Haley made her way to pulpit and adjusted the microphone to her height. She straightened out the black suitcoat she wore over her dress. She looked at the crowd and felt jitters throughout her body. There were just so many people there. And this was not the same as performing. Or the anything like the Burning Boat Festival. It was when she caught Lucas eye, and his brief nod of encouragement, that her fears were quelled. Lucas had his own job later on. He was instructed to read a "Lucas Scott original poem" at the cemetery. Once Haley got through her job, she intended to repay the show of support to Lucas.

"Thank you all for coming and honoring a man we all loved for many reasons—Mr. Brian Durham," Haley began. "Now, I realize most of you know him by other names—including me who called him 'Whitey.' Some also called him 'old man' and others called him 'coach'. Some called him all three," she said looking at Nathan and Lucas with a slight smile. "I think the reason I was chosen to speak to you today is that you know basketball was not his only legacy. Sure, I know it's the first thing people think of, but that's not the case for me. My relationship with Whitey wasn't about basketball. _Not at all_," she emphasized, her eyes scanning the captivated crowd. "And it won't be the thing I remember first about him."

"I first met Whitey when he was my P.E. teacher. Even then, he was more than a teacher. He was the one everyone in the school looked to up to. He was an unofficial administrator. He was an unofficial guidance counselor. He was even a second parent to those that needed one. He was a friend to everyone. And yes, he was also coach of the basketball team, who had his own legacy as a Raven."

"Whitey became more than a teacher to me when he came to a celebration our friends threw for my husband and me after we married. It's an understatement to say that many people were shocked that Nathan and I married so young, but Whitey was one of the few who didn't judge us. Instead he gave us a baby blanket. It was a thoughtful gift and even though we didn't need it at the time since our son wasn't part of the plan yet, he wanted us to keep it. He explained that his wife, Camilla, had knitted the blanket in expectation of having children, and she would want a couple like us to have it." Haley paused as she fought back tears welling in her eyes as the vivid memory flashed before her. "That blanket," she said tearfully as a lump formed in her throat, "meant more to me than any wedding gift I received that night. It was a gift from the heart and a show of his faith in us. He saw beyond a teenage couple in love and that meant so much to us. I'm happy that blanket has been passed on to Jamie and over the years has always been at his bedside."

Haley took a moment to collect herself. Many of the audience members pulled out tissues, dabbed at their eyes, or looked away as they fought back tears.

At this point, Haley couldn't look at her family—that would send her over the edge and she knew Whitey didn't want to be mourned in that way. She took a deep breath, focused on the back of the church, and continued. "From that point on, Whitey's_ heart_ was what I connected with. I learned about his wife, Camilla, whom he spoke of often. There was always a trace of sadness in his eyes, but he never shied away from talking about the love of his life. This is what I will remember most about him. After her death, he didn't become a bitter old man. He kept on living. He lived in honor of Camilla, living out a promise he made to her. He didn't let his regrets get the best of him. He remembered his wife every day of his life and kept her spirit with him….and that's what I think we need to do."

Haley now made it a point to look at Nathan. He had his arm around Jamie and with watery eyes, gave her a proud smile. Jamie, in turn, looked up at his father, smiled at him, then looked right back as his mother and flashed her the same smile.

Haley, now fully in control of her nerves, spoke clearly and confident, making eye contact with as many people as possible. "My husband will have Whitey with him every time he picks up a basketball. My son will remember him each time he walks into the Tree High Gym. My daughter will have his spirit with her every time her face lights up as she talks about 'horsies.' I will think of him every morning when I wake up in bed next to my husband—thankful that we have another day to share together."

"I ask all of you to do the same. Let him continue to make a difference in your lives. Pick one thing….or two or three if you can't choose…that Mr. Brian Durham has left you with and let his spirit and love remain with you—_always and forever_."

* * *

All the seats were taken in the living room of Whitey's ranch, so many were left to stand as they impatiently waited for the lawyer to arrive for the reading of the will. It was an uncomfortable situation and everyone wanted to get it over with so they could head to the café to release their pent up emotions.

Everyone stopped talking as the lawyer walked in the front door. He set down his briefcase, put on his glasses, and began shuffling through some papers. "I assume everyone here is on the list?"

Nathan looked around the room. Many were still in a state of shock. Lucas, Peyton, Glenda and Mouth were hovering by the doorway to the kitchen, while Haley and Karen sat side-by-side on the couch holding hands. Jake was in recliner, with Jenny on his lap.

Nathan looked up for his seat at Whitey's desk. "Everyone who could be here."

The lawyer looked up and nodded. He opened up his leather portfolio and cleared his throat. "Let's get this started. We are gathered here today for reading of final will and testament of Brian Durham…"

* * *

AN: First, I'd like to apologize for the long delay in between the posts for Chapters 5 and 6. In the end, I was so overwhelmed with real life circumstances and my own writing, I just could not seem to be able devote anytime to writing Chapter 6, as scheduled. Luckily, **Two Bodies One Soul** stepped in and saved the day! Marit also has the patience of a saint for waiting so long for me to make a decision and finally get this story moving again!

Secondly, I hope you are not too upset with the events of this chapter. In the end, I think it opens up lots of storyline possibilities, all of which can still lead us to the final scenes of the 9x13 finale-and beyond! There are a lot of ideas floating around, but feel free to add in your own—including what you think should be in the will! I left Marit with a real cliffhanger, but I'm so excited to see what she comes up with. We look forward to hearing from you as well.

Lastly, please forgive any typos. I have tried to do the final edits on this so many times, but my eyes are glossing over everything. I also hope I got all the past OTH references correct. If you notice any major errors, please _PM _me. I filled in some gaps, but I want to stay true to the OTH things we know are factual.

Thanks for reading! We appreciate your support! Stay tuned to Marit's account for the next chapter…


End file.
